Alpine and Alonso target upholding consistency in Turkey

Alpine heads to Turkey this week with the objective of upholding its consistency and extending its points scoring to a fifteenth consecutive race.

Save for F1's first round of racing in Bahrain at the start of the season, the Enstone squad has enjoyed a top-ten finish in every race so far this season.

Alpine's Fernando Alonso came close to snatching a podium last time out in Sochi, but ultimately finished sixth following the late downpour that disrupted the final laps of the event.

But the French outfit's level of consistency is paying some good dividends. Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski is banking on another solid run in the points at Istanbul Park to allow the team to consolidate its fifth-place position in the Constructors' standings ahead of AlphaTauri and Aston Martin.

"While we are not exactly where we want to be in terms of competitiveness, the fact that we have been able to score points in fourteen races in a row is a great indicator of how, as a team, we are managing to get the best of our package in all circumstances and of the progress we made this year in terms of reliability," commented Budkowksi ahead of next weekend's event.

"We now need to further consolidate our position in the Championship and extend our lead over Alpha Tauri and Aston Martin, and this can only be achieved through consistent points finishes and being ready to grasp any opportunity, especially when big points are on the table - we have seen that anything can happen this year!"

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Alonso has enjoyed a good many battles in the past in Turkey, and the Spaniard's recent form in Russia augurs well for his return to Istanbul ten years on from his last outing at the track.

"I have some nice memories of the Turkish Grand Prix," he said. "It’s a circuit with a good mix of high-speed corners and overtaking opportunities.

"Turn 8 is a unique challenge and I look forward to tackling this corner in a modern-day Formula 1 car. I had a fun battle with Michael [Schumacher] there in 2006.

"He was right behind my gearbox exiting the final corner on the last lap. That was just one of a number of on track battles we had that season.

"We’ve had some good races this year and importantly we’ve been consistent. We need to keep up this consistency and score more points for the team to finish the season on a high."

On the other side of the Alpine garage, Esteban Ocon will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing weekend in Russia during the Frenchman struggled with set-up issues.

"I was disappointed not to score points in Russia as we had been on a good run of picking up top ten finishes," he said.

"We won’t hide away from the fact we missed an opportunity at the end of the race with the mixed conditions. Sometimes it falls like that.

"However, we have spent the week reviewing some things as, in the dry, we were not too competitive, and we missed out a little bit.

"We’ve done our homework; everyone is working hard and I can’t wait to go to Istanbul. The target is a return to the points and keep up the fight for fifth in the Championship."

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