Alpine driver Esteban Ocon said the team is on its “back foot” going into the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The French squad had difficult runnings during the pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, and most expect them to fall behind from where they left last year, including themselves.
Speaking with F1 Media, Ocon said that Alpine knows they’re “entering this season slightly on the back foot with the new car concept and the team is working incredibly hard to bring more performance to the car in the coming races.”
“The test session in Bahrain was extremely valuable and we learnt a lot about the new car and its characteristics,” he added.
“The car improved from the first to the last day in testing, so we’re hoping to see similar improvements over the course of the race weekend.
“We know what we’re working with heading into the opening race of the season, and we must extract the maximum from our package to give us the best possible chance of coming away with something from the weekend.”
Teammate Pierre Gasly said the lack of performance is “no surprise,” since Alpine went for a new concept with their new car.
“I’m remaining realistic,” Gasly said. “I know it will not be an easy start for us but what is most important is to keep identifying the key areas of work and to learn and progress.
“I think the good thing is we’ve identified what we’ve got to improve and what are the priorities to focus on over the next few weeks.
“I don’t want to make any conclusions,” he added. “As I said, it’s a new car, there is a lot to understand, there is a lot of performance we will have to find. But right now, to make a claim or any conclusion after this much running would not be fair.”