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'Sainz to Alpine, operation at embryonic stage'
After five games, Alpine has only 14 points. The French team is already considering major changes in the near future. As such, Alpine may consider changing drivers as they feel that Esteban Ocon is not the leader they expected and Pierre Gasly is far from the top driver. Spain’s El Nacional.cat reported so.
The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit places high demands on the tires of the F1 cars. Pirelli therefore brought the new C1 tire to the Spanish Grand Prix for the first time this weekend. Pirelli also said teams must increase tire pressure by one point.
Hulkenberg, who has not raced for Barcelona at Renault since 2019, finished his second practice session on Friday afternoon behind Fernando Alonso and Red Bull pacesetter Max Verstappen.
The returning German still hadn’t completed the final corner at 170 mph, and he ended up clocking 0.27 seconds in 1 meter 14.177 seconds. The next 12 cars finished 15th behind his teammate Kevin Magnussen by 0.536 seconds.
Hulkenberg, who was only 18th in FP1, believes his performances in FP2 are “real”, although he expects other teams to find their pace in Saturday’s game.
He therefore called on his team to “remain calm and realistic” despite the exciting result.
Insight: What we learned from Friday’s practice for the F1 2023 Spanish GP
Hülkenberg said: “I think it looks real, but I guess the others didn’t play well, they didn’t play well.
“In particular, there are a lot of top cars and I think they’ll find something or pick it up overnight. We’ve got to be calm and realistic.”
Hulkenberg, who is yet to reach the podium in F1, believes Haas is better suited to Barcelona’s permanent circuit, having finished only 17th in Monaco last time around (with a 10-second penalty for a pit stop error), despite Use a car with an upgraded front wing in the Principality.
He continued: “For me it was important to have a good feeling in the car, a good rhythm.
“I managed to find it today and that’s the most important thing for me and for the driver.
Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
Photography: Andy Horn / motorsport pictures
“Obviously, I hope to have an equally good day tomorrow. Just squeezing out what we have.
“But it’s going to get tense again. Even with the Q3 battle, if you see it in midfield, there are still four or five teams and we’re all fighting over the same tarmac.
“It’s going to be a tough, tough battle again… Naturally here too, the car is just in a happier place. It immediately makes me feel better than a week ago in Monaco.”
He added: “It feels good, especially that lap. The new padding gives you more grip on the lap.
“Especially with FP2, I think we’ve gained some performance. In FP1, it’s not quite there yet.”
Meanwhile, Magnussen, who was seventh in FP1, believes a late set-up tweak affected his speed.
While Fernando Alonso is not yet in contention for a win in 2023, the Spaniard’s performance in a relatively strong Aston Martin looks like a comeback. Even with a slightly better car, the nearly 42-year-old F1 driver could take on Max Verstappen, a fight everyone including Pedro de la Rosa would love to see.
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