Seventh and fourth respectively in Free Practice 2 on the circuit of Hungaroring, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon had an overall good day in warm conditions and on this demanding winding track which seems to suit the Alpine.
However, for the two-time World Champion who celebrated his 40th birthday this Thursday, there is still a lot to do to ensure that the good intentions that have been met bear fruit. “It was a good day. The Hungaroring is obviously a very different circuit from Silverstone and you really have to adapt to those slow corners and so much action on one lap.”
“We tried different things on the car, some with the very high temperatures in Budapest in mind. We don’t have a perfect balance yet, so we have a lot of work to do tonight, but we’re okay with it. Let’s get closer. So it was a productive day overall. “
Same observation on the other side of the garage, Ocon also insisting on the significant heat of this first day in Magyar land. “It was a good Friday testing overall. The conditions were very tricky with this record-breaking heat here. I had never seen track temperatures above 60 ° C in my career! C t is a huge challenge having to manage the tires, the brakes and the car. “
“It was important to take the measure, but it should be much cooler tomorrow. Today we were competitive and the car looked good on the only lap we did in soft. It’s positive to start, I like driving here, but we have to keep working hard tomorrow for qualifying, which we all know is important on this circuit. “
Davide Brivio, Alpine competition director, calls for caution due to a hierarchy that is difficult to read and conditions that are set to change. “We had two positive sessions, especially with Esteban who felt comfortable in the car and showed good pace with both tire compounds. Fernando still has a bit of work to do to adjust the car to his liking, but we have collected a lot of useful data on the long stints and the different tires in order to make progress tomorrow. ”
“The final results are good, but it is difficult to draw conclusions, especially as the weather could change. For now we need to keep up our efforts, keep working, make good qualifying and stay focused.”
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