Former F1 world champion Damon Hill believes that mid-season testing with multiple drivers, as the Alpine F1 team did last week, will have multiple factors at play other than perfect pace, so who will be the team’s full-time driver? I don’t think it will be a reliable barometer of whether it works well.
Alpine F1 Team, which has multiple candidates on the list to replace Fernando Alonso in 2023, held a three-day closed test last week with its 2021 car at the Hungaroring.
Among those in attendance were former Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi, Alpine junior driver Jack Doohan and Mercedes reserve driver Nick, who made a name for himself by replacing Williams in the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1.・De Vries is included.
However, some question the fact that Daniel Ricciardo is not included. The team have mentioned the possibility of a return to Ricciardo, but have not given him a chance to show what he can do again.
However, 1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill said that even though the Alpine F1 Team tested Daniel Ricciardo against other contenders, only pure lap times were used when testing drivers in such a manner. is not considered.
Asked if Daniel Ricciardo would be fit again for ‘Team Enstone’, Damon Hill said: “I think testing is a very imperfect way to see if anyone wants a driver. .
“As much as sheer pace, the vibes, how the mechanics react to them when the guy walks into the garage, how the engineer reacts to this guy, this magic like you say It’s important to be able to produce that kind of quality, this leadership.”
“If you just go with pure pace, it can be misleading, especially in testing, because it’s not easy to say who was faster in testing.”
“No matter how many winter tests I go to, I often suddenly think that Haas is the fastest and I can win the world championship.”
“Obviously, when you go to the first race, that’s not the case. Testing is just one day on a circuit with constantly changing conditions.”
“How do you compare it to the same thing? If you put a man on it the next day, it’s a whole different story.”
In fact, it is Pierre Gasly who the Alpine F1 team wants to be Esteban Ocon’s teammate in 2023. The move was conditional on Red Bull putting Koston Herta on AlphaTauri F1 as Gasly’s successor, and it seemed that the FIA would not issue a super license, but the team has a new Nick De.・We are negotiating with Fries, and the possibility remains.
