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Alpine have closed the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari, but the team is still not pleased with A523's performance. The French Alpine team isn't content with eight points from the first two races of the 2023 Formula 1 season. As the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix demonstrated, the team's performance and pace is presently in question.
Red Bull lead the victories at the front, ahead of a group of three made up of Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari, followed by Alpine at a respectable distance, while the other teams are clustered behind them.
Alpine Sports Director Alan Permane said:
"The drivers want a bit better brakes, they want better traction. There isn't really one area that they really complain about. We have to improve everywhere."
The Enstone-based team were bold and stated lofty targets for the season following the shakedown at Silverstone and the unveiling of the new A523. At least fourth place at the World Championships, with the goal of closing the gap to the top considerably.
They have definitely grown stronger on Mercedes and Ferrari, but the margin to leaders Red Bull appears to have stayed around the same as in 2022, despite being decisively passed by another midfield team in Aston Martin.
Alpine were expected to have a stronger chance against Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, but their excellent performance from the second practice session was not completely confirmed in the race. In P8, Ocon was almost 10 seconds slower than Charles Leclerc's Ferrari in front of him.
Alpine's Esteban Ocon believes that 'stupid' grid position penalties will linger further into 2023 season
Esteban Ocon was the first driver to fall foul of the FIA's rigorous grid positioning policy in F1 2023, followed by Fernando Alonso, and Ocon believes they will not be the last.
Ocon's dreadful race began at the season opener in Bahrain, when his front-right tire was not within the allocated limits of his grid box, resulting in a five-second penalty. He was then given an additional ten seconds for failing to serve that penalty effectively, and another five seconds for speeding in the pit lane.
Ocon said (via PlanetF1):
“It seems like a stupid penalty that we get there, but it’s not as easy as it looks to park the car in the right place, especially with these big cars, how low we are sitting."
Ocon called the penalties for himself "stupid," but if the FIA's attitude remains unchanged, he expects similar penalties to continue since it is incredibly hard to differentiate between the lines in these "big cars."
