Ocon: New Alpine makes 2022 F1 car look like “a toy”

Esteban Ocon says his new Alpine A523 make its predecessor look like “a toy” in comparison as so much attention to detail has gone into its creation.

Ocon: New Alpine makes 2022 F1 car look like “a toy”

Launched officially on Thursday, the car is very different to the A522, with new rear suspension among the changes, many of which are intended to help with a weight-saving programme that has put the car under the minimum limit.

The power unit department in Viry also focused on reliability over the winter after a series of frustrating issues in 2022.

“It's a good evolution compared to last year,” said Ocon. “I'm a very mechanical guy, I like to get close to the bodywork, and close to the suspension side of things, and have a look deeply into how parts are made.

“And if I have to be honest, the 2022 car kind of looked like a toy, in comparison to what we have now. 

"So, the level of details and how nice the parts are made, in terms of weight-saving, in terms of solutions in the cockpit and everything, everything looks like proper race car spec.

“It's very impressive, I have to say, the details in everything, how the bodywork goes together and how all the parts are made. It's very nice.

“And that's first good for reliability, but second means that the team took a step up again. It was a step from '21 to '22. And now it's a huge step again in '23. So we'll see if that translates to performance, but already it is it is a step. That's what I can see.”

Esteban Ocon, Alpine

Esteban Ocon, Alpine

Photo by: Alpine

At Thursday’s launch, team principal Otmar Szafnauer said Alpine had to repeat its fourth place in the world championship but be close to those ahead, and also target podium finishes. 

Ocon pointed out that the team wasn’t far off the latter achievement last year.

"It was close,” he said. “We finished fourth in Japan, fifth in Red Bull Ring. There was not a lot missing, and with a worse car in 2021 we won a race, and we finished third in one. So everything's possible.

“But yes, as a target itself it can sound similar to say we want to finish fourth, but the gap from fourth to third is huge, at the moment it was about 300 points or something, in the constructors'.

“If we can be fourth but try and get much closer to third, and maybe fight for third, that's a completely different dimension. You enter into top five finishes, into podium territories.

“So obviously, it's a very high target that we're setting ourselves, continuing the regulations, but we have to set ourselves that target.

“We're very ambitious, we are competitors, that's what we want to achieve. But in F1, everything can happen. And we hope there's going to be surprises.”

Read Also:

Asked if the car could win races, he added: “Realistically, I don't think that's where we set ourselves. Obviously, if we put the car in Bahrain, and it's super performing, we can speak after Bahrain, yes.

“At the moment, I don't think that is realistic. But we'll see. There could be surprises in F1. We've seen it in the past, we were not expecting the Brawn to be a winning car in 2009.”

shares
comments

Related video

The Mercedes and Ferrari F1 wing ideas many thought were banned

Mercedes F1 could regret letting de Vries go, says Shovlin

How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Jonathan Noble

How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule How F1's new era has exposed the downside of its most important rule

What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1?

What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1?

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Saudi Arabian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1? What next for Mercedes in its quest to get back to the top of F1?

Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion

Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Australian GP
GP Racing

Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion Why Piastri’s F1 homecoming will be a landmark occasion

The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023

The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Australian GP
Alex Kalinauckas

The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023 The recent Australian GP form history that will boost Ferrari in F1 2023

The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories

The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories The cycle of F1 upheaval Williams must end to rediscover past glories

The state of play in F1's technical silly season

The state of play in F1's technical silly season

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Jake Boxall-Legge

The state of play in F1's technical silly season The state of play in F1's technical silly season

Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers

Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
Kevin Turner

Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers Ranking the top 10 pre-war grand prix drivers

Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries

Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries

Plus
Plus
Formula 1
GP Racing

Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries Why drivers are the least of Ferrari’s F1 worries