"Alpine is probably the strongest": F1 pundit reveals the midfield pecking order

F1 pundit Mark Hughes believes Alpine is the strongest team in the midfield pack. The midfield battle is one of the most interesting aspects of the 2023 F1 season. Apart from the four top teams, all the other six are closely matched with one another. However, Hughes believes the French team is currently leading the midfield in terms of overall stability within the team.

Speaking on the pecking order of the grid, he said that Red Bull are miles ahead of everyone else, while the other top teams - Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin - are battling each other for the second spot.

Below that, the six remaining teams are essentially in midfield. Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Hughes said:

"The midfield is interesting. It's very differently composed this year. You got Red Bull way out front, Aston [Martin], Mercedes, and Ferrari scrapping to be [the] best of the rest. The midpack is basically the six other teams. It's different in qualifying to points; there's very little correlation between the two."

He added:

"The fastest qualifier of the group as an average and expresses a percentage deficit to pole is the Haas. Closely followed by the Alpine, with the rest somewhere behind. Williams is actually third fastest of the pack."

Concluding his analysis of the pecking order, Hughes said Alpine should be leading the midfield pack. He said:

"Alpine should really be leading the group. But the restart in Melbourne took out both their cars, with Gasly running very strong fifth. So, I think, probably realistically, Alpine is the head of this group."

Alpine are currently sixth in the constructor's standings, falling behind McLaren following the Australian GP earlier this month, where a late collision ended both their drivers' races.

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Alpine confident about their upgrades coming in Baku

Alpine's Chief Technical Officer Pat Fry has said that the team is positive about their upgrade package coming at the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP. He explained how they have a decent development plan that will keep introducing new parts to the car. He said:

"In Baku we will have a good package of novelties and then other small things in the following rounds. Ours is a reasonable development plan. In Baku we expect to take a step forward and then we will have other things for the races to follow."

The 2023 F1 Australian GP was a massive blow to the French team as both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon crashed into each other after the second race restart, eventually bringing out a third red flag.

Hence, they will be looking forward to bringing in as many points as possible in Baku with the help of the new upgrades.