Alpine driver, Fernando Alonso has admitted that he is braced for a ‘totally different challenge’ at Portimao for this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix.
Speaking in Alpine’s pre-race preview, Alonso revealed that he has only driven the Algarve International Circuit once before, albeit in wet conditions so expects a “totally different challenge” this weekend which could be a “learning curve” initially.
The two-time F1 champion however has praised the circuit’s characteristics with fast corners and various elevational changes, saying; “The circuit is very fun to drive and I think in these modern Formula 1 cars it will be very exciting, especially with the huge elevation changes.”
Esteban Ocon meanwhile enjoyed a positive trip to Portimao last October as he brought his then Renault car to the flag in eighth place just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who since moved to McLaren this season.
Ocon also echoed Alonso’s feelings on the Algarve International Circuit as he described the circuit as “a rollercoaster” with all the elevation changes and quick corners around the 2.9 miles track.
Alpine Racing Director, Davide Brivio meanwhile hailed this circuit as “unique” and a proper “rollercoaster”, although he noted that the weather conditions should create for a “different” kind of weekend compared to late October 2020.
Brivio also is expecting track conditions to vary which Alpine will have to explore throughout the weekend, commenting; “The track surface might have some improvements with the higher air temperature and better, overall grip levels, and that will be interesting to find out.”
On what fans can expect this weekend in terms of result, Brivio confirmed that their aim is to try and “… improve our performance from Imola and also improve our performance from last year at this track.”
2021 Portuguese Grand Prix Preview
‘We’ll take this positivity forward’
Alonso finished tenth at Imola after a post-race time penalty for Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, which saw the Spaniard’s seven race drought in F1 without points come to an end, having failed to score since 2018 Singapore GP for McLaren prior to his two-season sabbatical.
The Spaniard confirmed that he was happy with “overall feel” of his Alpine in Imola despite potential for improvement moving forward, saying; “We’ll take this positivity forward into Portugal and hopefully we can show further progression there.
Esteban Ocon finished tenth on the road but Raikkonen’s penalty promoted him to ninth to give Alpine a double points finish, which the Frenchman admitted was “nice” as those three points in total were their first since rebranding to Alpine.
Ocon though was pleased with how some new upgrades worked on the car at Imola, adding; “The car felt good, the upgrades we brought worked well and now it’s important we push on and make further progress.”
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