Emag wrote: ↑23 Apr 2022, 23:55
SmallSoldier wrote: ↑23 Apr 2022, 23:30
Jambier wrote: ↑23 Apr 2022, 23:26
Really surprised how quickly they came back to third force!
It really is incredible ! Congrats to the team
Still early to call them third force… The Alpines and Alfas are very quick! It seems that the overall team operation is indeed a step ahead, running for the most part reliably and without many issues when it counts has helped them against them.
I would not rate Alpine as high at the moment. They seem to suffer on long run pace. That was the case in Saudi, Australia and it seems to be the case here as well.
You’ve got a very good point, but in Australia their one lap pace was impressive… If it’s a tire degradation issue, that’s something they can get on top off (let’s remember last year Ferrari’s improvement once they figure out their tire deg… After France they were clearly faster in the race)… They do have a quick car though, I wouldn’t underestimate them.
In Saudi, they were arguably faster than McLaren, in Australia Alonso could have showed a very different pace if he wouldn’t have had the issue in Qualifying and run compromised from an strategy perspective most of the race.
What I’m trying to say is that McLaren is clearly fighting at the top end of the midfield at the moment and that is great… Calling them third fastest is a little early (Mercedes was clear faster in both Saudi and Australia in race pace).
Let’s enjoy the fact that they are in the fight without any real upgrades just yet… It bodes well for when and if the upgrades come