"That's definitely a win for us" - Esteban Ocon discusses what would make 2023 a great season for Alpine

Esteban Ocon has admitted that Alpine are targeting bridging the gap to the front runners in the 2023 F1 season as a win.

The Enstone-based team was embroiled in a heated battle throughout 2022 with McLaren for the title of 'best of the rest'.

Eventually, Alpine were able to seal their fourth-place finish with a late flurry as McLaren faltered towards the business end of the season. This time around, they are aiming to do even better.

When asked to describe what would constitute a successful season for Alpine with the new A523 challenger during a press conference in Bahrain, Esteban Ocon said:

"It would be a win if we close the points down to [being] very close to third. That's definitely a win for us. If we keep fourth, then we are the same place as we were last year. That would probably not be a win. It would be a normal thing, [a] normal improvement, and that's not what we are aiming for."

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Esteban Ocon is aware that 'finishing fourth is going to be a hell of a task' for Alpine in 2023 F1 season

Esteban Ocon and Alpine have set their sights on finishing fourth as they did in 2022 and getting closer to the title contenders this year. However, an encore of the same caliber may be an uphill task for Esteban Ocon considering how things played out during pre-season testing in Bahrain last week.

When asked how he felt about his team's chances against the rest of the field, the Frenchman said:

"Everyone around [us] is going to be working and thinking the same [about improving]. You guys [media] seem to think the Aston Martin is pretty fast. This kind of team, I know them well. I've been working with them, and they're also not settling to finish where they finished last year."

Ocon went on to add:

"All these guys are going to be trying to push forward, so even finishing fourth is not an easy task – clearly not [an easy task], very far from that. We can't underestimate anyone and finishing fourth is going to be a hell of a task already. But a win for us would be to close down the gap to be close to third."

Alpine registered the slowest lap time of all ten teams on the grid this season, clocking 1:32.762 on the timing charts. That was well behind the likes of Aston Martin and McLaren, who could be direct rivals in the fight for midfield superiority.

Alpine's performances during pre-season testing could be down to the team holding back and sandbagging their true pace. We will know for sure by the end of the week when the lights go out in Sakhir for the season opener.