Double surprise from Alpine car launch

A double surprise for fans as Alpine presents two liveries for its 2023 F1 car. The Alpine team presented its single-seater for the 2023 Formula 1 season on Thursday 16 February; the A523. The French manufacturer’s team was the last on the grid to unveil its car.

The Alpine team lifted the veil this Thursday on its F1 single-seater for the 2023 world championship which will be driven by Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.

After a 2022 season in which Alpine finished fourth in the constructors’ championship, this A523 will have the difficult task of enabling the French manufacturer’s team to do better this season and perhaps fight for the world title.

 

 

An extremely ‘French’ team

The Renault E-Tech-powered Alpine A523 will be driven by a 100% French driver line-up with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly working together for the first time in their F1 careers. The two from Normandy will defend the colours of Alpine, whose factory is located in Dieppe…in Normandy, that’s not something you can make up.

Pierre Gasly – who left the Red Bull fold at the end of last year – does not hide his happiness at finally being able to drive for a French team:

“I am already a Norman, I come from Rouen, and we know that Alpine is just next door in Dieppe and that it is just a few kilometres from home,” said the Frenchman.

“I have of course a very strong link with this group. It’s the only French team on the grid. It’s a real change in my career, I’ve spent the last nine years with Red Bull, my pre-Formula One and my five seasons in Formula One.”

 

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New beginnings…

“You could say that my career has been built a bit around Red Bull, and today it’s really a new beginning for me and it’s the start of a very nice adventure.”

“For me, there are real things to look forward to with Alpine, and of course, the fact that it’s French…F1 is an international sport, we race all over the world, but the fact that it’s also a French team, emotionally it’s something special.” says Gasly.

 

 

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As for the livery presented by Alpine on Thursday, there are no big surprises as this Alpine is…blue as you would expect, while the A523 was spotted this week on the Silverstone track where the French manufacturer’s team took part in a shakedown (a first drive) which went “well”.

“It’s always a great feeling to officially unveil our car for the upcoming season.” says the Renault boss,

“Since Alpine joined the Formula 1 grid in 2021, I have been excited by the progress we have made step by step,” said Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine.

 

“At Alpine, we are fundamentally driven by a natural desire to compete, which is engraved in the company’s heritage and will remain at the heart of our motorsport projects for many years to come. I would like to congratulate the teams at Enstone and Viry led by Pat, Matt and Bruno for their outstanding work in designing and building the beautiful A523.”

“We are now all looking forward to seeing it in action. I am proud to have entrusted Esteban and Pierre with the face of the Alpine brand as race drivers in 2023. They are to lead the team professionally, both on and off the track, while contributing to the achievement of our goals. Alpine is on the rise and will continue to be, I am convinced.”

 

A pink livery

Like last year, Alpine has unveiled a second version of the A523’s livery in pink, the colour of main partner BWT. This livery will be used as it was last year for the first three races of the season in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, while the rest of the season will be run in the blue livery.

Alpine was the last team on the grid to unveil its 2023 car on Thursday. All teams will now head to Bahrain for the 2023 winter test from February 23-25.

READ MORE F1 NEWS: Hamilton’s assessment on the Mercedes W14

 

 

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