Alpine’s place in the 2023 pecking order is perhaps less clear than any other Formula 1 team. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer admits that, at least publicly, the sole Bahrain test last week was an “inconspicuous” performance for the Renault-owned outfit. When told that Alpine’s test results were “curious”, Ocon asked the reporter what he meant. “Well, I guess Zidane is a very fast driver then,” he said. When asked to clarify the team’s mysterious position in the pecking order, he answered: “One thing I can say is that we’re going to be faster than during the test. We’re pretty confident and there were definitely positive signs of performance during the test.

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