BWT Alpine F1 Team Kickstarts 2023 On-Track Campaign With Silverstone Shakedown

BWT Alpine F1 Team started its 2023 on-track season today as it completed 100km of running in the A523 at Silverstone, ahead of the official launch in London on February 16th. 

Esteban Ocon was joined by new team-mate Pierre Gasly at the home of the British Grand Prix with both drivers splitting the running on Monday as part of the team’s filming day and shakedown of its 2023 challenger.

Esteban took driving duties first, beginning his day at 09:00am local time and completing nine laps before handing over to Pierre, who toured the 5.891km track eight times to total the 100km-limited distance for his first action of 2023.

The A523 ran without any issues to mark the latest milestone on its development path ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, which begins in Bahrain on March 5th .

The team will officially unveil the A523 in London on Thursday 16th February before travelling to Bahrain for pre-season testing between 23-25 February.

Esteban Ocon

“It’s not until you get back out on track in a Formula 1 car that you realise how much you miss it! It was an honour to drive the A523 today and experience first-hand all the hard work and improvements that have gone into this car. A big thank you to all the women and men at Viry and Enstone for reaching this milestone and seeing the car on-track for the first time. The first lap is always a memorable one and I’m glad today went smoothly. We will show the A523 to the world this Thursday at the Launch and also on track in Bahrain next week.”

Pierre Gasly

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be driving again, especially in my new colours of Alpine. Today was about getting an initial feel for the car and it felt very good on the laps I drove. I know everyone at the team has worked tirelessly to develop the car over the winter and it’s a proud moment to drive it today and see everyone’s faces in the garage. I’m looking forward to the Launch on Thursday and then learning even more about the car at testing.”

Matt Harman, Technical Director

“It’s been another milestone ticked for the A523 today with our shakedown at Silverstone and I’m pleased the day ran so smoothly. Esteban drove first in the morning to check all the systems were working properly as well as completing the usual install programme for the car. Pierre was then in the car in the afternoon for the first time in the A523 and completed eight stable laps to get an initial feel in his new surroundings. These days are of course limited and not representative, but we’ve certainly had a great day and we now look forward to testing in Bahrain where we expect to continue our learning of the 2023 car.”