Alpine will bring updates for its cars to Zandvoort with the intention of improving their performance and regaining ground in the championship battle
In his only appearance on Dutch soil driving in the top category, Colapinto narrowly missed the points zone with an 11th place.
Friday, August 21
FP1: 7:30
Sprint Qualifying: 11:30
Saturday, August 22
Sprint: 7:00
Qualifying: 11:00
Sunday, August 23
Race: 10:00
*all times are in Argentina
Franco Colapinto will compete again this weekend in the Formula 1 with encouraging news. Alpine confirmed that it will introduce improvements to the Argentine's and Pierre Gasly's cars during the Dutch Grand Prix, in an attempt to make a performance leap in the second half of the season.
The confirmation came from Steve Nielsen, director of the French team, who indicated that the new package will be evaluated in Zandvoort before making a final decision on its use during the weekend. "We have some updates available this weekend, which we will test on the car during the practice sessions before the Sprint qualifying. The plan is to bring more improvements as we can, and hopefully it will be enough to put us in the fight on track to score as many points as possible", he explained.
The Briton avoided specifying which sectors of the A526 will be focused on the modifications, although the team's intention is to regain competitiveness after the last races, where Racing Bulls and Audi managed to show ahead in terms of performance.
"Now all our attention is focused on this weekend's race in Zandvoort, with which we resume the season. We have said many times that we are immersed in a tight championship battle and that, if we can improve the performance of our car, we will be able to achieve our goal by the end of the season", the director stated.
Alpine returns to action in sixth place in the Constructors' Championship, with 61 points. Racing Bulls, its main rival in the fight to become the best team behind the four big ones, pulled five points ahead in the last race before the break and moved into fifth place.
Therefore, the upcoming races will be important for the French team, which will seek to regain ground with a more competitive car. Zandvoort will be the first test for the updates and also Colapinto's first opportunity to demonstrate on track how much the performance of the French team can change after the break.
The mid-season break also allowed the team to work on various aspects off the track. "The summer break is always a good time of year, when practically everyone working in Formula 1 is obliged to take a break from racing. We have carried out some general maintenance tasks at the factory, as it really is the only suitable time to do so", Nielsen shared.
Now, with activity officially back, Alpine will test its updates in a weekend with little room for adaptation (there will only be one free practice due to the Sprint) and with the need to score points to get back into the fight for the leadership of the so-called midfield group.
After a nearly month-long break, Formula 1 returns this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix. Action at the Zandvoort circuit will kick off on Friday, August 21 with a single free practice and the Sprint qualifying, and will conclude on Sunday, August 23 with the main race.
