F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Alpine stakes its claim: 'We'll be in front of Mercedes in Spain'

Alpine sporting director Alan Permane has gone out on a limb ahead of next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, to claim that the Enstone squad will perform better than Mercedes in Barcelona in the wake of its strong weekend in Monaco. .

Esteban Ocon was in the fight for pole position in Saturday's thrilling shootout in the Principality, but ultimately qualified fourth behind Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc.

However, a flawless performance by the Frenchman in challenging conditions coupled with impeccable execution by his team delivered a well-deserved P3 podium to the pair on Sunday, while Pierre Gasly added to Alpine's haul of points with a seventh-place finish.

Permane was particularly satisfied with the impact of Alpine's latest updates in Monaco, some of which were circuit specific.

But the Briton sees no reason why the team's A523 can't challenge Mercedes and perhaps Ferrari in next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

"I don't think this is a Monaco special car, it is just the upgrades we put on for Imola and also for here... the car is working well," commented Permane after last weekend's impressive display.

"I fully expect to be in front of Mercedes and with Ferrari at the next race. Max is too far away, and when Checo is on his game, he will be as well.

"Fernando is going to be very difficult but I don't see why we can't race with Ferrari and Mercedes, which we have done [in Monaco] and as we did do in Miami as well.

"They were quicker than us ultimately, but we were in a race with them. That is where we are aiming for."

Permane revealed that Alpine will implement another update on its car at the Circuit de Catalunya where the team expects to gain a better understanding of its A523's performance.

"Monaco is obviously an outlier of a track and we are happy to have done well," he added.

"We are expecting to do well in Barcelona and it will give us a much better understanding of the car.

"We have got another little upgrade coming there, as we will have most tracks, so that will go on and we will be able to measure a bit more accurately where that is."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Bearman gives harsh verdict on Sao Paulo stand-in

Oliver Bearman got quite the early morning wake-up call on Friday in Sao Paulo when…

7 hours ago

Red Bull still 'looking at the facts' regarding Perez's performance

While his team mate Max Verstappen thrilled the fans with a run from 17th on…

8 hours ago

Sad Colapinto laments two crashes in one day in Sao Paulo

Williams suffered a bruising time on Sunday in Sao Paulo, with Alex Albon unable to…

10 hours ago

McLaren: No regrets over timing of Norris pit stop in Sao Paulo GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the squad has no regrets about their…

11 hours ago

Williams' Boutsen hoists the mainsail in Adelaide

On this day in 1989, Williams' Thierry Boutsen secured his second F1 win when he…

12 hours ago

Horner: Max 'answered critics' with epic Sao Paulo GP drive

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix victory…

13 hours ago