BWT Alpine F1 Team previews the thirteenth race weekend of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer share their thoughts on the thirteenth race of the season at the Hungaroring.
Otmar Szafnauer: "We are reasonably satisfied with the first half of the 2022 season. Coming into the year, there was a sense of heading into the unknown with the change of regulations, different looking cars and the ambition of harder and closer racing on-track. I think there's more to come in terms of achieving the ultimate objective of wheel-to-wheel racing, corner after corner, but, we've seen some excellent races at the majority of Grands Prix. In terms of our performance, we're in a strong position to achieve our season aim of being fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. Regularly, we are the fourth fastest car, even if we have not extracted or shown that potential as much as we'd have liked. That said, we are learning and developing the car at a fast rate, which is thanks to the hard work of everyone at the team across Enstone and Viry to ensure we're making progress towards the front. I firmly believe we will achieve our goals by the end of the season. Right now, though, our focus is on this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix and backing up our good result in France last weekend. We want to enter the summer break feeling pleased but also motivated to turn the screw in the Championship come Belgium and beyond."
Esteban Ocon: "I feel good, and it will be emotional to be back in Budapest for sure. I can already feel all the memories of last year coming back. But that was last year, and we need to be fully focused as a team to deliver another solid weekend. It will be important to go into the shutdown with a feeling of having really cemented that fourth spot in the Constructors' Championship. We know it will be difficult, but we have the team and the tools to do just that. We will be giving it one last push before a well-earned break for the team who have worked incredibly hard all year. I do really enjoy the track and it's one of my favourites, and not just because I won there! I like the second sector and how fast and flowing it is. It seems you don't get a break from turn four to turn 11, and if your set-up is good that sequence of corners can feel really nice and make you feel like you're extracting the maximum from the car. It's a really fun track to drive."
Fernando Alonso: "It was a good Sunday for us after a challenging weekend. We found it quite tricky to find the right setup during Practice and we weren't quite happy with the balance until just before Qualifying. However, we showed that when we can have a clean weekend, to aim for the top seven positions is a very realistic goal for us as we were pretty comfortable in the race. Obviously Budapest is where I took my first-ever win in Formula 1. We had a good car that year and we were building something very strong towards the next few years. But, we weren't expecting a win that year. I think we found the circuit to really suit our package. Of course, there was last year too, which was Alpine's first-ever win. The race also tends to be fall around my birthday, so it's a good weekend for me with lots of memories and hard to choose one. It's a fun track and a real challenge as a driver, with its tight and twisty nature."
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix Factfile:
- The Hungarian GP has been on the calendar every year since 1986
- Fernando Alonso has finished in the points for the last seven consecutive races, with his highest position being fifth at the 2022 British Grand Prix.
- Fernando will make his 19th appearance at the Hungarian Grand Prix – which put him equal with Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen as the drivers to have made the most starts at the track in Formula 1.
- Fernando and Lewis Hamilton can extend their record as the drivers to have scored on the most occasions at the Hungarian Grand Prix (both on 14).
- Both drivers have won at this track - Esteban Ocon in 2021 and Fernando in 2003.
- Esteban has scored points in nine of the thirteen races this season.
- Alpine has now scored points in eight consecutive races.
- Renault-powered cars have had nine wins, 30 podiums, and 10 poles, and 12 fastest laps in Hungary.
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