Alonso having ‘very positive’ impact at Alpine

Jon Wilde
Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

Davide Brivio believes Fernando Alonso’s pushiness to get the best out of everyone at Alpine is having a “very positive” effect on the team.

Alonso has returned to Formula 1 after two years away, doing so with the rebranded team at which he captured his two World Championships in 2005-06.

Anything but a shrinking violet, the Spaniard has earned a reputation for being a demanding personality at the constructors he has driven for, taking no prisoners in his determination to get the best possible performance from the car.

It appears nothing has changed upon joining Alpine – but racing director Brivio does not have a problem with the way Alonso is trying to galvanise those around him.

“[Fernando] is really pushing and I think it’s very positive for the team to have this type of driver that tends to stimulate everybody, push everybody to give the maximum,” said Brivio, quoted by Motorsport.com.

“The fact he’s coming back in the most demanding class of motorsports, it shows also how strongly he is motivated to be back in action and to do great.”

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Someone else who could feel the benefit of Alonso’s forceful character is his team-mate Esteban Ocon, even though he is the first driver the 39-year-old will be keen to beat.

But if the senior man can drag the team forward as a whole then it can only be good for Ocon, provided he is up to the challenge.

“I think it’s a great combination where Fernando will be important also for Esteban, in order to show also how it can work maybe in a different way with an experienced driver,” added Brivio.

“At the same time, Esteban can help Fernando because he’s becoming more and more competitive and I think it would be very competitive this year, so I like this combination and I’m really looking forward to seeing both in action.”

There have been suggestions that although some promising signs did emerge from pre-season testing in Bahrain, Alpine are not actually all that fast compared to their direct rivals.

Brivio refuted those concerns, however, saying of the drivers: “They are doing a good job. We were able to go through the plan without any issue.

“Regarding Fernando, I saw him quite up to the pace. I think they can be up to speed from the first race and ready to fight on the level of the other.

“Of course, it’s our responsibility and our job to give them the good package. We have to see the race weekend, probably the first few races, but I think we will be ready.”

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