After the race in France, in which Alpine scored points with two cars, team leader Otmar Szafnauer is looking forward to consolidating the result in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Q: How satisfied are you that the team earned points with two cars in the home race?
Otmar Safnauer: We didn’t spend the easiest weekend – the heat hit everyone. After a difficult Friday we were not competitive enough but the team did a great job and found a way to improve on Saturday. After qualifying we were already well prepared for the race and we were able to earn points with two cars, ahead of our direct competitors from McLaren, who brought some interesting new products to add.
We have a fast race pace – that’s what counts to earn points. Fernando had a clear race. He started well and got ahead of Lando Norris, which was our plan. After that, as always, he did everything brilliantly.
Esteban also did well after a difficult Friday, adding and earning a well-deserved four points after several overtakes from Daniel Ricciardo. Home race, double points and fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. I think we did well!
Q: Last year, Esteban Ocon brought Alpine its first win. What result is possible this year?
Otmar Safnauer: We are delighted to be back in Budapest, where we took our first win as an Alpine. Last year, Alpine was my main competitor in the race and I still remember the close fight. I was very happy for Esteban after that win. In Formula 1 anything can happen – you can never give up.
Who knows, maybe something similar will happen this time. We aim to take positions this weekend that could open up opportunities for us. The team is happy to be back in Hungary thanks to the good memories.
Q: How do you rate the performance in the first half of the season?
Otmar Safnauer: I’m pretty happy with how we spent the first half of the season. This year we faced many unknowns due to changes in the regulations. I think in terms of wheel-to-wheel combat, the goals of the new regulations are not yet fully known, but we have already seen exciting races in most Grands Prix.
Speaking of our results, we have achieved the goal of moving up to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. Our car is regularly fourth fastest, even if we don’t always fully reveal its potential.
However, we continue to learn and improve the car quickly thanks to the hard work of everyone at the Enstone and Weary bases. I am convinced that by the end of the season we will reach our goals.
Now we are fully focused on the Hungarian Grand Prix after a good result in France. We want to enter the summer break in a good mood and motivated to continue attacking in Belgium and in the following races.
Q: Because of what the team can add for the rest of the season?
Otmar SafnauerA: Firstly, we will maintain a high degree of modernization and keep updating the machine regularly. We’re keeping a close eye on the schedule and the A522 will get some notable updates in the future.
For various reasons we didn’t always have a clean weekend, which cost us a lot of lost points. We have to reveal the maximum potential at every Grand Prix, but it depends on each member of the team. We are doing well and must continue at a high level.
Source: F1 News
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