Alpine took their first Formula 1 challenger to Silverstone for a filming day.
In a virtual launch event Alpine revealed the A521, which honours its French heritage with a predominantly blue livery, featuring splashes of red and white.
Esteban Ocon, one half of Alpine’s 2021 driver line-up, took part in the virtual launch and then got the chance to drive the A521 for the first time on Wednesday.
Fernando Alonso, who returns to Formula 1 to partner Ocon, was unable to take part in the A521 launch event due to his altered schedule that was brought about by a cycling accident.
Silverstone set the scene then for Ocon to take the vibrant A521 onto a race track for the first time, and even under the grey, misty Northamptonshire skies it looked sublime!
The A521 could be heard in the distance as the Alpine crew headed to the fence, and it wasn’t long before Ocon came into sight and powered down the straight.
Ocon completed 100km of running, the amount which teams are restricted to in official filming days for their current challengers.
After struggling in the early stages of the 2020 campaign upon returning to Formula 1, Ocon went some way to disproving the critics as the season progressed.
The second-half of the season was a far stronger showing for the Frenchman after being off the pace of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the early rounds, and his P2 finish at the Sakhir Grand Prix was the perfect way to crown that progression.
That momentum needs to continue into 2021 with Ocon’s Alpine deal up at the end of the year, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said that Ocon remains in his thoughts for 2022.
Nonetheless, Ocon’s full focus is on Alpine.
“I’m an Alpine driver, fully committed to the plan of the team and the challenges that are inside here, Ocon is quoted by RacingNews365.com.
“My goal is to make the team improve, and at some point get the result that we want, which is fighting for wins in the future.”
