First trip down under for Alpine

It must be exciting to have your birthday weekend andhome Grand Prix at the same time?!

It’s going to be a big old week, that’s for sure! Mybirthday on the Wednesday, Grand Prix weekend immediately afterwards.Obviously, this is the first time back for the Australian Grand Prix in thelast couple of years. It’s going to be a massive crowd and a big event, whichI’m looking forward. Being able to see my family on top of everything elsegoing on; it’s very special for me.

What do you think about the changes to the Albert ParkCircuit? Have you seen them already?

I have seen them and it’s going to be a lot quicker than theold layout. I don’t know how much quicker the lap times will be but I’ve driventhe circuit on the simulator and it’s significantly quicker. The back sectionwhere they’ve removed the chicane, it’s now basically a massive straightleading into the right hander. There could be some interesting overtaking movesinto there and cars side by side at very high speeds. It’ll be exciting. Ithink these new cars can follow better at high speeds, so I think the changesmade here suit the new cars very well.

How would you assess the team’s fortunes in the first tworounds of the season?

I think it’s been good so far. Bahrain was good to open ouraccount with a double[1]points finish. Ithink the potential was there for a little bit more but to have two cars finishin the points at the first round, I think was a good result for the team. SaudiArabia was looking really good but unfortunately we had Fernando’s car issue.It’s been a promising start with more to come I’m sure!

Has being in the pitlane and garage given you a newperspective on the team and the sport?

I think so definitely. Especially having the fans back nowand seeing the other sides of the sport apart from the driving side, such asthe media and socialising with fans for example, there’s a lot more going onthan the junior categories. I think that’s been the biggest thing I’ve gottenused to. At the end of the day, it’s still of course a race team of the highestlevel. I think all of the top teams in motorsport have several things incommon. Being able to listen in the garage and pitwall is very insightful andI’m trying to learn as much as I can to implement that when I hopefully getonto the grid.

BWT ALPINE F1 TEAM | PREVIEW | 2022 BWT ALPINE F1 TEAM |PREVIEW | 2022

Best start to a season

Esteban Ocon is targeting a third points finish in a rowat this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, after finishing in sixth place inSaudi Arabia. In what will be his third-ever Grand Prix in Melbourne, thisweekend Esteban has his sights firmly set on continuing his strongest start toa season in Formula 1.

Esteban Ocon Race Driver #31

Two positive weeks for you in the Middle East, scoringsome good points and currently sixth in the Drivers’ Championship. How do youreflect on your start this season?

For sure it has been a very positive start for me. The moreI drive the new car, the more I understand it and I think as a team we aremoving in the right direction. We are showing we are competitive early on andthat’s a good sign for everyone. It’s a testament to the hard work from all themen and women at the factories over the winter and I hope we can keep going andimproving. But it’s a long season and we know this is a marathon not a sprint,and good consistent results will be key to achieve our targets this year. Andso this past week, we’ve spent more time debriefing the last two races and ofcourse preparing for Melbourne so we can bring the best package to F1’s bigreturn to Australia.

How exciting is it to go back to Melbourne, a favouritefor many on the F1 calendar?

For sure it is exciting to go back to there. Last time wewere in Australia we left under very bizarre circumstances and the world haschanged in many ways since. I’ve personally always enjoyed racing there and theatmosphere is always great. I think that despite the distance, everyonegenuinely enjoys going back. Melbourne is such a cool city and I am glad we canfinally return and hopefully we can put on a good show for the passionateAussie fans.

The track in Melbourne has changed quite a bit since welast raced there. What are your thoughts on this new layout?

Albert Park has always been an enjoyable track to drive andthis year the track layout changes are actually pretty significant, which addssome excitement. For example, turn 9/10 has been removed and turn 6/7 changeslook small, but are substantial for cornering speeds. These types of changeswill mean the lap times should be several seconds faster this year, compared tothe last time we completed a lap at that track. With these changes and the newgeneration of cars, it should make for an exciting race and some good battleson track. We are excited and can’t wait to get our first taste of it in reallife on Friday morning.

Q&A Fernando Alonso Race Driver #14

Time to dig in

Fernando Alonso heads to Australia for his seventeenthappearance down under and first time in the cultural city of Melbourne since2018. The Spaniard has so far turned in some strong performances to start hisseason, with some bad luck denying him a place alongside his teammate in thetop six in the drivers’ standings.

Are you excited to race in Melbourne again after fouryears away?

Yes, it’s always fun racing in Melbourne. It’s been a while,but we are all happy to be back. It usually acts as the first race of theseason, so it’ll be interesting to see if the weather is any different to whatwe have previously experienced in Melbourne. I like the track and whilst it’squite difficult to overtake the changes have been made to encourage this, sowe’ll see how it all plays out. I think it’s clear we won’t see the same levelof overtakes as we witnessed in Bahrain and Saudi, but with these news cars itseems easier to follow, so in theory it should be easier to try overtakes herethan it was in the past.

You’ve had some strong performances so far this year butequal bad luck. How do you reflect on the first two races?

We deserve to be much higher in the standings after tworaces. Our car has been good and the performance has also been good over theweekends. Last weekend was a disappointment as we looked comfortable and setfor sixth position until we had our retirement. It was frustrating but we canbe pleased with our overall pace so far. Sundays is where the points are scoredso we just need to make sure we score points then. The whole team is workinghard to make sure we keep on top of our development and we have a fewdevelopment items planned for the early part of the season.

You and Esteban had some fun on track battles last weekend.What was it like from your point of view?

We had some fair and exciting racing in Saudi and also inBahrain too. We have a lot of respect for one another, and the team alsorecognise this too. We raced and it got close on occasion, but we were undercontrol and at the end of the day we are racing drivers. We realise that theteam comes first and we both accept that when racing wheel to wheel. I hope youenjoyed watching it at home as it was fun to have a car that was capable offighting like that through the corners and on the straights. I’m sure therewill be more battles with Esteban and the rest of the field this year, as apartfrom two cars ahead, it’s very tight between a number of teams.

Q&A Day in the life of… Arlete Caetano CompositeTechnician

What are you responsible for in your job? What does thatinvolve, what do you do, who with?

As a Composite Technician we are responsible for makingcomponents to build the car. In our clean room, which is an area that is acontrolled environment with temperature, humidity and the air within the cleanroom is filtered through Hepa filters 10 times an hour. We mostly make Class Acomponents, such as Chassis, Suspension, Front / Rear Wings, Gearbox carriersplus many other components. To produce the parts, we use a variety of CompositeMaterials, like Carbon Fibre. I work with the most talented and skilledComposite Technicians.

Describe a typical day in your job.

The Department uses a Work-to list that outlines thepriorities of the day. The management will then decide what parts I will beresponsible for making on the day. To be able to produce it I need to follow adesign drawing, which provides all the information, such as the material to beused, specifications and measurements to follow.

How did you get the job? What is your background and whydid you take this job?

It’s been over 10 years since my first steps into theFormula 1 world. As a child, growing up in Brazil, I never dreamed of been partof it, only because it seemed too far to achieve, for someone from such a poorbackground like me. I moved to the UK a few years ago and worked hard indifferent jobs. One day a friend who works in Formula 1, after seeing some oldfurniture restoration that I had done, thought I would be good as a CompositeTechnician as I had an eye for details and good hand skills. I did not knowwhat that was. I took the chance that life presented me with. I got a traineeposition to learn all about the role as a Composite technician and I fell inlove with it. I Finally started loving what I was doing and never stopped doingwhat I love.

What is your most memorable moment…

Back in 2012, watching the first race of the season knowingthat the car had the suspension that I had proudly worked on.

And the worst part of your job…?

Seeing our car involved in an incident.

The best part of your job then…

The hope and excitement for a good result, that excites meevery weekend.

What do you do after work? How do you unwind?

I go back to my motherhood, which is the other best part ofme.

What do you do before going to sleep?

I read a book.

Plan B… If you weren’t doing your job, what would youhave done instead?

I would have been a Psychologist.