11 March 2022

BWT Alpine F1 Team unleashed its pink A522 to the Formula 1 world today for the very first time, with Esteban Ocon completing over a century of laps at the wheel for day two of pre-season testing in Bahrain. Esteban managed the second highest mileage and the fifth fastest time of the day with a lap time of 1min 34.276secs.

 

The Frenchman’s morning programme ran smoothly in scorching hot temperatures. He resumed duties in the afternoon—and despite a precautionary stoppage on track towards the evening—no issues were discovered, and Esteban went on to complete 111 laps in total.

 

Alpine’s striking pink livery will remain on the car for tomorrow and is set to be used for the first two races of the 2022 Formula 1 season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

 

Fernando Alonso is back in the car tomorrow and will drive the pink A522 for the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

 

Esteban Ocon – 1min 34.276secs (111 laps)

 

Esteban Ocon:

 

“Today was our best day of pre-season testing so far with very good progress made and good understanding gained on the A522. We ran through a busy programme pretty much to plan, which is very important at this stage of the test. It’s been solid and I’m happy with the work completed today. The next time I’m in the car will be next Friday for the first Practice session of the season. This is when it all really counts so I’m looking forward to doing it all for real. Hopefully Fernando can continue the good work tomorrow and finish our preparations for the season as best as possible.”

 

Alan Permane, Sporting Director:

 

“I would say today was our best day this winter, with Esteban completing 111 laps in total from the morning and the afternoon running. We also managed to find some decent pace after investigating the car setup yesterday and Esteban was much happier with the balance. The conditions were also quite challenging with the hot and windy weather. It should be a step cooler tomorrow, but it’s the same for everybody and we’ve got to be prepared to deal with any conditions next weekend. Ultimately, we are pleased with the overall mileage that we’ve achieved and the car ran well all day. We look forward to the final day of testing tomorrow with Fernando back in the car.”