Fernando Alonso believes a strong qualifying will still be essential at the Australian Grand Prix despite changes aimed at promoting more overtaking.
Albert Park has undergone its biggest renovation since it first welcomed Formula 1 in 1996, including a full resurfacing, five reprofiled corners and the old Turn 9/10 chicane removed completely.
On Friday, drivers got their first taste of the updated layout, with Alonso ending Practice 2 in P4 just half a second behind pacesetter Charles Leclerc.
“The middle sector is one corner unfortunately and we would love to be a little bit stronger in the last sector!” the Spaniard said post-session.
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“But yeah it was okay, a good Friday for us. We still need to understand the tyres a little bit better, and also the set-up, but let’s see tomorrow.”
Certainly, the two-time F1 champion hopes to repeat that performance on Saturday in qualifying, given he still expects racing to be tricky on Sunday.
“It felt good. Obviously a lot faster compared to the last layout, but still not totally sure about the overtaking possibilities," he added on the new layout.
"Even with four DRS [zones] that makes it easier, but I think it’s still a difficult track to overtake – it’s narrow and Melbourne historically has been a difficult one and I think it will still be difficult to overtake on Sunday.”
As for teammate Esteban Ocon, he backed up Alpine's strong pace in P6.
“It’s been pretty decent, obviously both cars in the top 10 for both sessions,” the Frenchman said.
He can't hide that smile 😃#AusGP pic.twitter.com/AnOa74YNji
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 8, 2022
“A lot of things discovered today, some good surprises with the level of grip being much higher than before, the track being quite a lot smoother as well. Some great challenges with some great fast corners.
"We look pretty okay at the moment, but as you know I’m going to tell you, it’s only Friday."
Indeed in FP2, less than a second covered the 10 cars between Alonso in P4 and Lewis Hamilton in P13, and Ocon knows optimising each lap is going to be crucial in qualifying.
“We tried a few different things between cars, trying to optimise the aero platform through [the middle sector] and today it seems to have worked. But again, tomorrow is when we put it together and that’s when we need to be releasing the power," he said.
“Today, for sure, it was tight. We see the competition being there with Haas and Alfa Romeo as well – we see that they are quick in the long runs and they are going to be there in the mix with us, so small differences are going to make a big difference for Q3.”
