Pierre Gasly recounts a ‘proud moment’ during Alpine’s shakedown with 2023 F1 car

Alpine recently conducted a shakedown with their 2023 car in Silverstone. Pierre Gasly felt 'very good' in the car, but also felt proud.

Pierre Gasly recounts a ‘proud moment’ during Alpine’s shakedown with 2023 F1 car

Pierre Gasly

Alpine will be the last team to ‘launch’ their 2023 challenger, which will be called the A523. They will do so on the 16th in London, so the wait is almost over. A week after that, pre-season testing will begin. The season will begin officially begin on March 3 with the practice sessions. The audience’s first preview of how the cars could fare will be in pre-season testing, but teams would already have conducted shakedowns by that time. Pierre Gasly recently participated in one.

The shakedown took place on the Silverstone circuit, some 30 miles from the team base in Enstone. An image (presumably) from the shakedown actually leaked, which showed Gasly and teammate Esteban Ocon walking together while an Alpine car is seen in the background. If the image is something to go by, then the livery, like with most this year, is fairly similar to the one they had last year. Just a bit more black – which is carbon due to the paint being stripped off.

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Both drivers got a taste of the A523 during the shakedown, with Ocon first driving it for nine laps, and Gasly then taking over for 8 laps. According to the team, the event went smoothly, without any issues. Later, Gasly gave his thoughts on his first time driving the 2023 car. He said: “It’s a fantastic feeling to be driving again, especially in my new colours of Alpine. Today was about getting an initial feel for the car and it felt very good on the laps I drove.”

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The Frenchman is looking forward to the car launch and also the pre-season testing. He said: “I know everyone at the team has worked tirelessly to develop the car over the winter and it’s a proud moment to drive it today and see everyone’s faces in the garage. I’m looking forward to the launch on Thursday and then learning even more about the car at testing.”

Read More: Alpine’s livery leaked ahead of their car launch

Pierre Gasly’s teammate Esteban Ocon chips in with his thoughts

Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon

As mentioned earlier, before Pierre Gasly, it was Esteban Ocon who drove the new car. So he was the first one of the Alpine drivers, and his first impressions were also positive. The two of them have a big task at hand – Alpine don’t want to stick around in the midfield. They want to fight at the front soon, but that’s almost impossible in 2023.

Speaking about his experience with the A523, Ocon said: “It’s not until you get back out on track in a Formula 1 car that you realize how much you miss it! It was an honor to drive the A523 today and experience first-hand all the hard work and improvements that have gone into this car. A big thank you to all the women and men at Viry and Enstone for reaching this milestone and seeing the car on track for the first time. The first lap is always a memorable one and I’m glad today went smoothly.”

It’ll be interesting to see if the ‘leaked’ livery is the same as, or at least similar to the one that will be unveiled in two days’ time. But the real question is: How will it perform on track? Is it satisfactory towards the drivers’ and team’s ambitions? We will get a taste of that in the pre-season testing, but until qualifying, there’s no way to be sure.

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