Williams and Alpine have completed shakedowns at Silverstone, with the latter trying to hide its 2023 car before the official launch later this week.
Williams had openly announced its plans to carry out a shakedown with the FW45 when unveiling its 2023 livery last week, and both Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant spent time behind the wheel at Silverstone on Monday to put the first miles on the new car. But it wasn’t alone…
Alpine will unveil its new car in London on Thursday, but has completed the first laps with the A523 (main image) at the home of the British Grand Prix. The car was captured by some customers in a new trackside hotel but Alpine has attempted to keep photographs away from the public domain ahead of the launch.
As with Williams, both race drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly spent time behind the wheel during the 100km of running, with the team saying it ran smoothly throughout.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to be driving again, especially in my new colors of Alpine,” Gasly said. “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.”
Teammate Ocon echoed Gasly’s sentiments, having been the first of the pair to drive the 2023 car.
“It’s not until you get back out on track in a Formula 1 car that you realize how much you miss it!” Ocon said. “It was an honor 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.”
The Williams and Alpine shakedowns follow Red Bull, Haas and Alfa Romeo, with the first two also using Silverstone while Alfa Romeo carried out two days in Barcelona over the weekend.
