Pressiteade
It’sa new circuit and venue in Saudi Arabia. How has the team prepared for racingin Jeddah?
Asfor any circuit we have been using our simulation tools to optimise the carsetup before arriving in Jeddah. Both drivers will be familiar with the tracklayout having run in our driver-in-the-loop simulator. Qualifying and the racewill take place in the evenings, under the lights – so this add anotherdimension for the engineers as FP1 and FP3 will be during the day (althoughlate in the day) and we will face very different temperatures session tosession. We looked quite strong in similar conditions in Qatar, and we aim topick-up where we left off two weeks ago.
Thecircuit itself is being touted as the fastest street track in the world. Whatchallenges will this bring?
Thelayout certainly looks exciting and will be challenging for the drivers. Beinga street track there are likely to be walls instead of run-off areas and thisof course adds pressure for them. Tyres, as always, will play a large part inthe weekend and adapting the cars while learning about the track and its impacton tyres on Friday will be crucial to a successful weekend. Despite a strongweekend for us in Qatar, we have to focus on delivering a consistent weekendand a double points finish, our third in a row, will be the target.
Keepingfocus
EstebanOcon scored ten points in Qatar last time out to contribute to the team’sfantastic performance. The Frenchman is keeping focused for the final tworaces, beginning with a visit to the streets of Jeddah for this weekend’s SaudiArabian Grand Prix.
Howdo you prepare for a new circuit?
It’sgoing to be interesting to head to Saudi Arabia for the first time and discoveranother new circuit. It’s always an exciting experience to learn a new track,which we also had in Qatar last time out. Hopefully Jeddah will be just as goodfor us as Losail and we can be competitive. Preparation is the key to gettingon the pace at new places. The guys have worked hard in running simulations andunderstanding everything as best as possible, and we had a good day on thesimulator to get dialled in to the circuit so we don’t have any surprises whenwe get there this week. I like these kind of crazy tracks – like Baku forexample. It pushes everything to the limit, and I think that will be fun.
Whatdo you know so far about the Jeddah Corniche Circuit?
Thecircuit looks quite demanding as it’s a fast street track with the walls closeall the time. It’s extremely high speed with a lot of chicanes and fast cornersone after the other with little room for rest. With so many corners, itpresents a challenge for the engineers to work out how best to set up the carwith so many demands. It’s a long lap too, so I think it’s going to be veryphysical for us, and it’s important we stay focused during the race.
Whatwas the feeling after Qatar with the team’s strong performance?
Iwas very happy to contribute to a very good team performance in Qatar. It wasgreat to see Fernando on the podium too. He’s been outstanding this season andit’s a pleasure to be his team-mate and work with him for these big teamresults. One thing is clear, though, and that is the season is not over untilthe chequered flag drops in Abu Dhabi. We’ve put ourselves in a strong positionto claim fifth in the championship, but we know anything can happen in a raceand we will remain ready to seize any opportunity. The team and I are feelingmotivated to finish the season with double points across the next two races.
Fernando Alonso arrives in Saudi Arabia havingscored his 98th career podium in Formula 1 at the inaugural QatarGrand Prix two weeks ago. His attention now shifts to the Kingdom of SaudiArabia and Formula 1’s first-ever race weekend in Jeddah.
Now the dust has settled on Qatar, how do youreflect on adding your 98th career podium there?
It was incredible. The team deserved the result andwe executed everything as well as we could have from Friday through to Sunday.In the race we started very well and once the positions had settled, we were ina fight with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Everyone did their role perfectly,from the pitstops, through to the strategy and Esteban, who fought like a lionon track. We pushed like mad to ensure third position was secured. It was along wait for me to be on the podium again, Hungary 2014 was the last time, soit was very sweet to be up there again. It’s my first with Alpine and hopefullyit’s something we can use to drive forward into the final two races and nextyear. It was also very important in the battle for fifth in the Constructors’Championship and while we need to stay on our toes, it was a very strong resultfor the team.
You’ve never raced in Jeddah before. What are youexpecting from racing there?
It’ll be a new experience for everyone up and downthe grid. From what I’ve seen and analysed with the team, it’ll be a very fastcircuit. I’m not sure we can make comparisons yet, maybe ask me again afterFriday when we’ve done some running. As with any new track you have to preparefor the weekend thoroughly and look into every detail. We’ve been to a few newcircuits already this year so we have an idea what we need to look out for, buta new venue can throw up many surprises. You never know what can happen, let’shope for another strong weekend.
Do you enjoy racing at night in Formula 1?
Yes, it definitely has a special feel to it. I’veraced in Le Mans and other categories where it’s normal to race at night. Butyou have to remember there was a time when we didn’t have any night races inFormula 1 and losing the light during a Sunday was always something you didn’twant to happen as it meant you couldn’t keep racing. I said to the team inQatar that I could have driven there all night and into the morning had theygiven me enough fuel. We have many races at night now and it’s just a part ofFormula 1. It would be strange not to have them. It makes you wonder what willbe next in ten years or so that we didn’t think was probable in the sport. Thesport is always evolving not just on the track but off it too, so it’ll beexciting to see what is the next innovation that comes into our world.
Zhou and Piastri begin F2 title climax in Jeddah
Alpine Academy trio Guanyu Zhou, Oscar Piastri andChristian Lundgaard head to Jeddah to begin the climax to the 2021 FIA Formula2 Championship fight.
With two rounds left of the championship, the titlelooks set to go to either Oscar or Zhou who both have their futures confirmedin Formula 1 for next year. Meanwhile Christian will look to finish his seasonstrongly with ART Grand Prix before embarking on his maiden campaign in IndyCarnext year.
At the last round in Russia, Oscar cemented hislead in the Drivers’ Championship by taking victory in the Feature Race. Zhoubattled back to finish sixth, after spinning out earlier in the weekend.Christian meanwhile achieved two points finishes from two races in Sochi.
Described by the Alpine Academy drivers as“Silverstone with barriers” and “a faster Monaco”, it’s over to Zhou or Oscarto conquer the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and in turn place one hand on theFormula 2 title.
Oscar Piastri:“I’m lookingforward to getting back to racing. It’s been a long break for us in F2 sinceSochi. It’ll be nice to get back on track firstly. It’s a new track foreverybody. It looks very unique, there isn’t really a circuit like it. It’s astreet circuit but extremely high speed with some elements that are reminiscentof Silverstone. It should be an exciting weekend in terms of learning a newtrack. I think the track will be very difficult. In terms of racing I don’t knowhow good it will be for overtaking. We’ve got two rounds back-to-back now. Ihave one goal in mind, which is the championship. Prema and I will make surethat we come out of the gates strong.”
Guanyu Zhou:“It’s been awhile since we’ve had a Formula 2 race weekend so it’s very exciting to haveback-to-back race weekends to end the season. I’ve already driven the track inthe simulator. It feels to me like a faster Monaco or a Silverstone withbarriers. Very cool, especially in qualifying where we can race under thelights. It’s a new challenge for everyone”.
Christian Lundgaard:“I’m lookingforward to it. I did a few days in the simulator at home on the F1 game. It’svery fast. The track limits that apply to us will be interesting to see as we followthe F1 and the F2 break. There’s been a lot of discussion on track limits andclose battling. It will be interesting to see how they will tackle that atJeddah. From my own perspective, considering how the season has gone so far, wehave nothing to lose. We have the last two races of the season coming up. Myfuture is secured. What’s not to like? I think the track will probably be a bitof a Baku-lookalike, a high-speed city circuit with fast corners. A trickytrack for sure. The walls are close which is always exciting. I’m pumped!”
Tyres:
Hard, C2 (White)
Esteban– 2
Fernando- 2
Medium, C3 (Yellow)
Esteban– 3
Fernando- 3
Soft, C4 (Red)
Esteban– 8
Fernando– 8
