Gasly proud of first experience at Alpine: 'It felt very good'

Alpine will be the last Formula 1 team to present their car for the new season on Thursday, but decided to take the A523 out on the Silverstone circuit on Monday. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were very pleased with the new car's performance afterwards, they revealed in a press release from Alpine.

It is by no means Gasly's first season in Formula 1. Nevertheless, he is embarking on a special year. In his first season with the French formation, he hopes to take another step in his career. The first signs are good according to the driver.

"It’s a fantastic feeling to be driving again, especially in my new colours of Alpine," Gasly explained after driving the A523. "Today was about getting an initial feel for the car and it felt very good on the laps I drove."

His compatriot Ocon is entering his fourth year of racing, in which he hopes to do better than last season. In 2022, he still finished eighth in the drivers' championship with 92 points gained. With that, he narrowly managed to stay ahead of his former teammate Fernando Alonso.

"It’s not until you get back out on track in a Formula 1 car that you realise how much you miss it! It was an honour to drive the A523 today and experience first-hand all the hard work and improvements that have gone into this car," Ocon said.