BWT ALPINE F1 TEAM GEARS UP FOR 2023 FORMULA 1 SEASON BY UNVEILING THE A523 TO THE WORLD

Buoyed by its clear trajectory in the Championshiphaving finished fifth in 2021 and fourth in 2022, Alpine enters 2023 with boldtargets as it continues its climb towards the front of the grid within the100-race plan.

The A523 is a significant evolution from itspredecessor, the A522, which has seen radical development over the winter months,led hand in hand by the design and technical teams at its bases in Enstone,United Kingdom and Viry-Châtillon, France.

The carlivery is yet again a striking design, combining the iconic colours of Alpineblue with the dashing pink of the team’s title partner BWT. On the night, theteam also confirmed its reversed, full pink livery for the opening three GrandPrix of the season in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo and Alpine CEO LaurentRossi attended the event to unveil the car to the world as well as reaffirmingthe ambitions and strategy behind Alpine’s presence in Formula 1 in line withRenault Group’s Renaultlution framework.

The team officially unveiled its new 2023 driverline-up in team colours for the first time with Esteban Ocon – in his fourthyear at the team – joined by compatriot Pierre Gasly who was announced as an BWTAlpine F1 Team driver last October. The pairing is an emotional and compellingstory, given the duo grew up in Normandy and first met as aspiring race driversat nine years of age. Since then, both Esteban and Pierre have risen throughthe racing ranks to Formula 1 – each picking up a landmark Grand Prix victory –and now together to lead the only French team on the Formula 1 grid.

Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer begins his second yearat the helm having helped guide the team to its impressive fourth place in the2022 Constructors’ Championship. Otmar was joined by Technical Director MattHarman who outlined the team’s design philosophy in enhancing the A523, as wellas explaining how both sites across Enstone – for chassis – and Viry – for thepower unit – have worked hand in hand to improve the team’s overall package.

Esteban and Pierre have enjoyed a busy pre-seasonpreparing for the demands of the 23-race calendar and drove the A523 for thefirst time on Monday in the team’s official filming day at Silverstone.

Both drivers will again share duties at the upcomingFormula 1 pre-season test in Bahrain before the first race of the season inSakhir takes place on March 5.

Laurent Rossi, CEO, Alpine: “It’s always a feeling ofimmense pride when we officially unveil our car for the upcoming season. SinceAlpine joined the Formula 1 grid in 2021, I’ve been eager to see continuedprogress and tick off each season and each milestone as they come. Ultimately,we at Alpine are driven by a natural desire to race and that is etched in thecompany’s heritage and will remain at the heart of our motorsport projects formany years to come. I’d like to congratulate the teams at Enstone and Viry –led by Pat, Matt and Bruno for their exceptional work in designing anddelivering the magnificent A523, which we are all very much looking forward toseeing in battle on track. I’m proud to have entrusted Esteban and Pierre to bethe face of the Alpine brand as race drivers for 2023. They must lead the teamprofessionally both on and off track and contribute to the team’s success inreaching its goals. Alpine is climbing up and will continue to do so, of that,I am sure.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal:“This time of the year isoften filled with both excitement and anticipation ahead of a new Formula 1season. It was a fantastic feeling to reach our objectives in 2022 by finishingin a well-deserved fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship; a healthyand significant milestone on our 100-race plan as outlined by Laurent at thebeginning of the season. We have just under 80 races left on this mission andI’m proud to lead the team on this journey. For 2023, the aim is simple: at aminimum, we must finish in fourth and in a much more convincing fashion. Bythat, it means, more finishes, more points and less unforced retirements. I havehigh expectations from everyone in the team – not least Esteban and Pierre –who will work collaboratively to deliver the best possible results for theteam.”

Esteban Ocon, BWTAlpine F1 Team Driver:“Iam very excited for the coming season with BWT Alpine F1 Team, my fourth yearwith the Enstone-Viry family. We showed some great progress in 2022 andeveryone in France and the United Kingdom has been working hard on developingthe car for 2023. I cannot wait to get the season underway to continue theupwards trajectory from last year, and I am looking forward to testing the carproperly in the pre-season test. The livery looks fantastic – it really standsout – and I’m sure it’s going to look amazing on track. I have been workingvery hard over the winter to prepare for the start of the season, I feel likeI’m in really good shape and, right now, I’m certainly ready to go racingagain.”