‘Mercedes next’ on list of Alpine targets but still a long way offf

Closing in on McLaren for best of the rest, Esteban Ocon says Alpine’s “next” target is Mercedes but admits that right now the A522 is “not there”.

Back-to-back double points-hauls in Baku and Montreal have seen Alpine close to within eight points of McLaren in the fight for best of the rest in the Constructors’ Championship.

It’s an achievement not to be taken lightly, although already Ocon’s focus is turning towards Mercedes and third place in the standings.

That, however, is still a long way off both in the points and out on track.

Although Ocon out-qualified George Russell at the Canadian Grand Prix, he lost out to the British driver with both Mercedes finishing ahead of the Alpine team-mates.

“We’re not there,” Ocon conceded to Motorsport.com. “I got passed by both [Mercedes in Montreal]. So we’re still a long way off…

“But yeah, that’s the goal. They’re next on the list.”

Throwback to last years Silverstone Sprint race where both Esteban and Fernando got off to rocket starts 🚀

We love that move around the outside 🔥#BritishGP #Alpine #F1 #Alonso #Ocon pic.twitter.com/dI8m8XPo3o

— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) June 28, 2022

Alpine will update their 2022 car at this weekend’s British Grand Prix, the new package said to be a substantial one.

According to Auto Motor und Sport’s Tobi Grüner, the Alpine package will include a ‘new floor to Silverstone. According to wind tunnel & CFD data it should provide a decent step.’

Ocon added: “We have quite a bit of upgrades normally coming so there should be a good step for us. So yeah, big hopes.

“It’s going to be a big week, starting from Tuesday [in the simulator], so a lot of work going ahead. And yeah, hopefully we can perform well, because the car is where it should be.”

“It is very encouraging,” he added. “And the team is pushing forward a lot and getting their upgrades early, and not when they were planned.

“And, it’s delivering it’s going in the right direction. And I think since the beginning of the year, we have improved more than a lot of other teams. So yeah, we can be satisfied, and it’s going in the right direction.”