Upgrades for Alpine: 'I think it will be fine'

Alpine has lagged behind Aston Martin Racing since the beginning of the season, and after the recent British Grand Prix at Silverstone, they were also overtaken by McLaren. In short, Alpine's quality is not as desired. Still, there is good news, as updates are on the way.

At the beginning of the season, Alpine's plan was to fight with the top three teams. Laurent Rossi, Alpine's general manager, even thought with certainty that this was going to turn out well. However, this is now not working out as expected. From the beginning of 2023, Aston Martin is already above the team and now after a good race by McLaren at Silverstone, Alpine has been passed by yet another team. In fact, the formation is currently sixth in the constructors' championship.

Otmar Szafnauer, Alpine's team boss, still sees things as rosy. He indicated that the team continues to work on new updates every race. These updates are expected to come in Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Szafnauer says of the updates, "We will definitely have new things and improvements for the Hungarian Grand Prix as well, but they won't be that big. But after that we will take a new chassis to Spa-Francorchamps. So when you put all these elements together, which are connected anyway, I think it will be fine."

Alpine is eagerly awaiting the introduction of the new floor that will debut under the A523s at the Belgian Grand Prix. However, this new floor is only the latest component in a series of improvements designed to help the two French drivers compete for better positions and at least return to the top-five in the constructors' standings.

"From the point of view of the budget ceiling, we have room. But we will have to decide how much compromise there is between the 2024 car and this year's car. It will be a strategic choice. And this will have to be a strategic decision about what we continue to do. But as of today, most of our efforts are still focused on this year's car, not next year's," Szafnauer said.