F1 News: Esteban Ocon says Alpine "are the next in line" to fight F1's top teams
Esteban Ocon believes that Alpine has the potential to fight with Formula 1's top three teams, explaining the promising signs for the team ahead of 2023.
Alpine showed strong performance throughout much of 2022, securing a solid foundation to build upon for the remainder of these new regulations.
However, the gap between Alpine and the top three teams is still significant, with the French squad still firmly in the midfield back.
Esteban Ocon has identified the factors that give him confidence in the Enstone team's chances of breaking free from the midfield next season, as quoted by racingnews365.com:
"We are, as I say, on the right path. It is the hardest step for sure; from fifth to fourth is close, and from fourth to third, there's a bigger gap.
"I'm not going to sat that's going o be an easy thing straight away but, with the rate of development that we had this year.
"If we can keep that going still over the winter - and I tested already next year's car in the simulator - it's very promising...
"We are the next in line."
Ocon's optimism is not without foundation, considering that Alpine has far greater resources at its disposal than most teams in the midfield pack.
As an engine manufacturer with significant financial backing, there is little excuse for Alpine to be lagging behind the front-runners in F1.
There is still a considerable gap to the front teams, and recent years demonstrate that breaking free from the midfield is a very difficult task.
With that said, Alpine is better placed than most to go against the trend and challenge the established leaders in Formula 1.