“It was frustrating,” Fernando Alonso unhappy with Alpine’s points tally after opening two races
Andrew Walker
Updated on April 01, 2026
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon enjoyed a wonderful on track duel during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Alpines looked fast and seemed much better than the rest of the midfield cars. But the race was cut short for the Spaniard after retiring early due to an engine issue. Ocon went on to finish the race 6th.
The two-time World Champion was forced to retire 15 laps early during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a water pump issue in his A522. But despite the issue, the two pink cars have managed to their way into Q1 of the weekend, showing that they are capable of making a statement this year.
The Spaniard feels Alpine “deserve to be much higher in the standings after two races”. He says the team must focus on the development of their car and is pleased with the overall performance of the team.
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Fernando Alonso says Alpine need to work on Sunday’s performances
The Alpine F1 team have shown a promising start to the new era of Formula One. The French outfit has claimed 4th place in the Constructors’ standings behind the big chunks Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes after the first two races of the season. And Fernando Alonso deems his team can achieve further if they manage to keep their pace and bring home results on Race Weekends.
Alonso said, “Our car has been good and the performance has also been good over the weekends. Saudi Arabia was a disappointment as we looked comfortable and set for the sixth position until we had our retirement. It was frustrating but we can be pleased with our overall pace so far.”
Back on a not so quiet January morning, the #A522 roared to life for the first time. Episode 2 of The Insiders, takes you within Enstone as we fired up for the first time in 2022.
Watch the full episode via the link below.#InsideAlpine
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 6, 2022
He added, “Sundays is where the points are scored so we just need to make sure we score points then. The whole team is working hard to make sure we keep on top of our development. We had some fair and exciting racing in Saudi and also in Bahrain.”
Fernando has qualified in Q1 for both the races and finished on point in the season opener in Bahrain, finishing 9th. Alonso will be using a brand new ICE on his car for the Australian GP on March 8-10.
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