"Everyone will improve massively" - Fernando Alonso optimistic about working on reducing Alpine F1's gap to the front

Fernando Alonso claims his team has some work to do in the coming weeks and months. The Spaniard is optimistic about reducing Alpine's gap to the front-runners, claiming that "everyone will improve massively."

Answering a question by Niharika Ghorpade from Sportskeeda about a particular area he thinks his car lacks when compared to rivals, Fernando Alonso replied, saying:

“We were 1.2 seconds from pole position. So we tried to understand what are the strengths of the cars and the weaknesses and tried to attack those as soon as possible in the next few races. Some developments are coming. But yeah, I think there is still some work to do for sure in the car. Everyone will improve massively in the next two or three months and we know that we need to make an extra step if we want to compete for higher finishes.”

Alonso had a mediocre start to the 2022 season, finishing P9 in the season opener in Bahrain. The two-time world champion put his pink Alpine in P8 in Saturday's qualifying session, outclassing teammate Esteban Ocon - who qualified in P11. The French team, however, was still 1.5 seconds off Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, who started in pole position.

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Fernando Alonso claims new cars are easier to follow but overtaking is "still not as easy"

The 2005 title winner gave his opinion on the 2022 cars and their massive aerodynamic changes. While he believes the new cars are easier to follow in dirty air, overtaking is still not as easy as he thought it would be.

Having scored two points in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso got a good idea of the way the new cars feel, having performed multiple overtakes on his way to a finish of P9. He told the media after the race:

“Following was definitely easier. We spotted already in the test that it was easier to follow cars, but overtaking is still not as easy as it seems on TV. I think all the overtaking we saw today was because one car had two seconds more pace on newer tires than others.”

The 40-year-old cites tire differences as being the biggest difference between cars in Bahrain. He continued:

“I met cars that I was two seconds faster [than] and I overtook in a few corners. And I also met cars that were two seconds faster than me and they overtook me in two or three corners. I think the tire is the biggest differentiating factor still, not the following. So, we need to see, we need to drive more races.”

Alonso's opinion on the 2022 cars is likely to change as the sport goes to different tracks around the world. It is still unclear whether Alpine F1 will be able to fix their issues and return to their 2021 form, where they finished P5 in the constructors' championship.