Alpine F1 Team finished 8th with Esteban Ocon and 9th with Pierre Gasly in the final round of the Saudi F1 Grand Prix 2023. Although Gasly connected at the start, it was a relatively straight race for the French duo. At the pit stop after the safety car was introduced, he was overtaken by Yuki Tsunoda, but immediately overtook him.
Gasly had a fight with his teammate at the second start, but after that, they both ran all the way to the finish line, gaining points as a team. Otmar Szafnauer (Team Principal): “Today’s race highlighted many positive areas, areas that need improvement. Esteban’s eighth and Pierre’s ninth were probably the best of the day. I think we are on the right track towards our goals, it is clear that we are not where we want to be yet and there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us to fight further up the grid. We will put some of the teams in front of us in the championship last year, but we have to keep grinding to close the gap. As a team, we look back on the weekend, positive. There are some things we need to improve on, but there are also many things which we need to improve in more detail. In Australia in two weeks’ time, we will try to use these lessons and try to do well again.” Esteban Ocon (8th) “Overall. “It was a reasonable race for the team. The final result is a reflection of our performance in the race and eighth place is the best we could have achieved today. Both cars are in the points. “Things are definitely positive, especially after Bahrain, but we must not be completely satisfied with the current situation, our car has potential and we will continue to learn and develop to catch up with” n competitors. I want to challenge the top grid and I will continue to work hard for that. I will report back this weekend and immediately look to Australia and aim higher.” Pierre Gasly (9th) “As a team It’s definitely satisfying to get two points finishing in the first two races of the season, but I think finishing eighth and ninth was the best part of the day. We’re positive. I take a step forward. Every time I’m in the car I learn a lot and I have to apply that knowledge and continue to improve the whole package. There’s more I can do on my side, in especially in qualifying. If I can push myself to the limit, I can get a better track position in the race. I hope to continue debriefing with the team, learning and showing further improvements in Australia.”
