Fernando Alonso says qualifying in the top 10 for the first race of the new season was a “relief” for Alpine.
However he urged his team to press on with their development programme after lapping 1.6 seconds slower than pole-winner Charles Leclerc in Bahrain.“To be fighting for the top 10 with both cars I think has been a relief a little bit for Alpine that the job done during the winter has been positive,” said Alonso.
“Now it’s up to us to develop the car as quick as possible. It’s going to be a huge development for everybody and we need to be fast off-track as well on that.”
Alonso will start the first race of the season from eighth on the grid, three places ahead of his team mate Esteban Ocon. However he is concerned by the size of the team’s lap time deficit to Ferrari and Red Bull.
“We need to push the button now in the factories and try to make the new parts [come] to the circuit as soon as possible,” he said.
“There are good ideas already in the factory, but I think it’s the same for everybody with the new cars, we will see in the first couple of months big changes on the cars. We need to make them work and hopefully close that gap with pole position that is still too much, over one second.”
However Alonso said he was pleased Alpine had not been affected by ‘porpoising’ as badly as some other teams.
“No bouncing for us so far this weekend,” he said. “So fingers crossed it’s still a mystery for many people. So hopefully tomorrow stays like that.”
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Situs (@situs)
19th March 2022, 18:16
The result for Alpine is not bad. But 1 second slower than the winner is painful. Even worse for McLaren and Aston Martin.
Edvaldo
19th March 2022, 18:19
what’s their excuse now? The car is completely new and they didn’ improve an inch. Alonso came back for this season, and he know they already dropped the ball again.
SHR Modding
19th March 2022, 18:21
Alpine don’t need an excuse. They are where they said they thought they’d be. Mclaren and Aston need excuses.
SHR Modding
19th March 2022, 18:22
Also not to mention that the engine seems good. Rumour is that Honda and ferrari are top, Renault a close third and merc the weakest.
SHR Modding
19th March 2022, 18:19
He made a mistake on his lap but so did Russel. I think alonso had the pace to be 6th. still looking better than many of the experts guessed after testing. Good solid foundation to build on
Sviat
19th March 2022, 18:28
These comments from Alonso are a sign – Alpine is nowhere compared to other teams. Not what Alonso expected after 3 years of development.
His last lap in qualification was messy, but still it’s 4 or 5 tenths not an entire second.
This is his last year in F1.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
19th March 2022, 18:30
I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by Alpine. Didn’t they use an old chassis for so long to be able to focus on this new one ? Didn’t they wait until very late for a brand new engine with more power ? All this for a low 8th.
The chassis doesn’t look bad, but the Renault engine looks sub-par compared to Ferrari’s. Having Haas in front of them is a bit of a disgrace for such a full manufacturer and so much promises.
Looks like they will end up fighting for 5th again ? I hope not !
Martin (@f1hornet)
19th March 2022, 18:50
I still don’t really understand the point of Alonso coming back to F1. It’s clear Alpine won’t be title contenders this season, so I don’t know what his motivation is now.
Ajaya
19th March 2022, 19:18
So, the 100 race count for alpine had begins.. or will it be from next year..???
Mashiat (@mashiat)
19th March 2022, 22:06
The 100 race count started from 2021. It is a countdown to their next 100 race project.
pastaman
19th March 2022, 20:10
People, honestly, it’s the first qualifying of the first race with new regulations. Please stop acting like you know what will happen the rest of the season.
Lare Dogg
19th March 2022, 20:57
+1