2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix highlights

BWT Alpine F1 Team scored two points scoring finishes from the first two races of the 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Esteban Ocon finished eighth and Pierre Gasly ninth at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Esteban’s four points ensured he claimed his first points of the 2023 campaign, while Pierre could repeat his ninth-place effort achieved in Bahrain on his debut with the team a fortnight ago.

It was a largely uneventful evening for the team, with both drivers on a one-stop – Medium to Hard – strategy in the 50-lap race. Pierre had a small scare on lap one as he was tagged by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on the exit of Turn 2 and escaped without damage to his A523.

Pierre pitted first for Hards on lap 14, with Esteban into the pits two laps later for the same compound. A Safety Car on lap 17 for Lance Stroll’s retirement meant both drivers were jumped by Yuki Tsunoda, who had yet to pit at that race stage. At the restart, Esteban cruised past the Alpha Tauri on lap 24 before Pierre repeated the move with a neat overtake into Turn 1.

From there, both drivers ran conservatively to the chequered flag to guarantee a deserved six points.

Esteban Ocon, started P6, finished P8:

Overall, it’s been a good race for the team. The final result reflects our performance in the race; the eighth place is the maximum we could have achieved today. Having both cars in the points is definitely positive, especially after Bahrain, but we must not be completely satisfied with where we are now. Our car has potential, and we will continue learning and building to catch up to our competitors. We want to challenge positions higher up the grid and will keep working hard. We will debrief this weekend, and our attention will quickly turn to Australia, where we’ll aim for more.

Pierre Gasly, started P9, finished P9:

It’s satisfying to make it two-point finishes from my first two races with the team. I think finishing eighth and ninth was the best we could achieve today. We’re making positive steps; we’re learning things each time we get in the car, and we must continue to apply that knowledge to keep improving the overall package. On my side, there’s more to come, especially in extracting the maximum in Qualifying, which will allow us better track position for the Race. I’m looking forward to debriefing with the team, continuing my learning, and going to Australia, where we want to show further improvements.

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal

Today’s race highlighted many things: areas where we know there are positives and other areas where we need to improve. Finishing with Esteban in eighth and Pierre in ninth was probably the best we could achieve today, and we’re making steps in the right direction towards our targets. We’re not where we want to be right now, that is clear, and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we take the fight further up the grid. We had reeled in some of the teams in front of us in the championship last year, and we must continue to chip away at that gap and close it. As a team, we’ll debrief this weekend as there are many positives and some finer details for us to improve. We have a good batch of upgrades coming up as per our development plan, and we look forward to Australia in two weeks’ time, where we aim to apply our learnings and again come away with a good team result.

Alpine F1 Team best pictures:

Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Thursday 16th March 2023. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Friday 17th March 2023. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Saturday 18th March 2023. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Saturday 18th March 2023. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Pierre Gasly (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523 on the grid. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sunday 19th March 2023. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Alpine F1 Team – Happy Mother’s Day. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 2, 2023 Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sunday 19th March 2023. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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