Aston Martin has been the surprise combination for the opening three races of 2023, with Fernando Alonso claiming three consecutive podiums in a vastly improved car after the team struggled in 2022.

While Silverstone’s improvement is a blow to all other lower-placed sides, it also shows them that it is still possible to make huge leaps from one season to the next within the confines of the budget cap.

“We have to think it’s possible, otherwise there’s no point in racing,” Ocon said when asked if the Alpine could replicate Aston Martin’s progress.

“If you think about it, we finished the season in December and when we restarted it was late February, early March. So it was about three or four months.

“I don’t know if Aston will be able to do that in the middle of the season, but if you take three or four months, it’s not the end of the season.

“Aston Martin has shown them that it’s fair play and that if you find the right thing, it’s possible to take a big step forward. It’s doable.”

Esteban Ocon, Alpine

Photography: Alpine

Ocon has been encouraged by Alpine’s development plans, which see the Enstone team bring substantial updates to their next race in Baku at the end of April.

“I’m at the factory at least one or two days a week,” O’Connell said.

“I’ve been in the aeronautics department, I’ve seen drawings of the future, I’ve seen future concepts for cars, what are we going to bring to the car. And some really interesting ideas.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them produced and seeing them in cars.”

Alpine, usually the fifth-fastest team so far, missed out on adding to its account in Melbourne, with a late collision between Ocon and team-mate Pierre Gasly leaving neither driver scoring points.

While the team’s A523 challenger doesn’t have any major weaknesses, Ocon said addressing “a lot of the details” will yield respectable performance.

“It’s a lot of details. It’s never the same thing, that’s what’s difficult. A compromise somewhere can cost you a little bit of performance elsewhere.

“And we cannot compromise at this time because of where we are.”