Alpine’s drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, haven’t been able to score points yet this season. This is because the team changed the design of their car late, and it hasn’t worked as well as they hoped. While other teams in the middle of the pack have gotten better compared to last year, Alpine seems to have fallen behind.
They brought some updates to the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, which gave them a bit of hope. Ocon even made it to the second qualifying session and started in 13th place. But both Ocon and Gasly couldn’t do much in the race and ended up with damaged cars.
Now, Alpine is trying to make things better by moving up an upgrade package that was supposed to be used in the Miami Grand Prix in May. They’re putting it on one of their cars for the Chinese Grand Prix. Ocon will be the one driving with the new parts.
Both drivers will have the new parts on their cars starting from the Miami Grand Prix, but Gasly will get them first when there’s only one set available.
Alpine’s decision to bring the upgrade sooner is a bold move because the Chinese Grand Prix is back after four years. This race is also the first sprint event of the season, which means the teams have less time to practice and get their cars ready.
Team boss Bruno Famin said, “The cars are completely different from the ones in 2019, so getting ready has been different. We have less time to prepare because it’s a sprint event, so it’s crucial to be ready from the start.”
Last year, Alpine had some trouble when they brought new parts to a sprint event in Azerbaijan. They had problems with the car’s reliability in practice, which meant they didn’t have enough data for qualifying. Then, they had to change Ocon’s car setup because of some wear issues, and he had to start from the pit lane.
