The Alpine F1 team picked up eight points at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, thanks to seventh place from Esteban Ocon and ninth from Fernando Alonso.

All eyes are now on the legendary streets of Monaco this weekend. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer tells us more about the goals of the French team.

Esteban and Fernando both made it into the Top 10 in Spain. How do you view racing?

First of all, we had a passionate race in Spain, at all levels. It was entertaining, with lots of stops and overtaking, and I’m sure it was a great show for all Formula 1 fans. From our point of view, given our positions on the starting grid after a difficult Saturday, we left Spain pleasantly satisfied with our collection of points. Starting from the twentieth and twelfth places on the starting grid, we finished in ninth and seventh positions, our two drivers having perfectly executed the plan put in place by our engineers and strategists. It was a tough and lively race, in scorching conditions, and all members of the team were treated to some recovery time this week to be better prepared before taking on the unique challenges presented by Monaco.

What did the team learn in Spain?

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is one of those that ticks the most boxes. It offers long straights, low-speed negotiated corners and chicanes, as well as medium and high-speed corners. It’s a circuit where you can learn a lot about the car as a whole and, this weekend in particular, we find ourselves with points that we need to understand better. The weather conditions didn’t really change between Friday and Saturday, but our car – it seems – lost its competitiveness. We need to work on that to make sure we gain consistency throughout the weekend, aiming to score bigger points with both of our cars.

How does the team approach this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix?

We are all looking forward to going to Monaco. It’s a very special place and a historic and important circuit for Formula 1. We all love to race there. With its rails very close to the track and its tight turns, it is a place where it is very difficult to overtake on race day. We have to make sure that our lap pace is good, which in general it has been. Spain were the exception, as we weren’t as fast on Saturday as the day before. As part of our meticulous preparation, we had some work to do this week to figure it all out quickly, in order to be strong again on Saturday. Our qualification, which is crucial, will undoubtedly have a significant influence on our career path.