BWT Alpine F1 Team returned to the race track today as the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season got back underway for Friday Practice ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Pierre Gasly ended the day in sixth place in Free Practice 2 with a lap time of 1min 11.766secs with Esteban Ocon in thirteenth on a 1min 12.001secs to underline a very closely matched field.

Esteban Ocon: "It's nice to be back behind the wheel after the summer break. I've definitely missed driving a Formula 1 car. Zandvoort is always enjoyable with the amazing atmosphere and it was no different here today. On track, it's been a pretty straightforward Friday where we've just focused on our programme, tried some different things and collected valuable data for tomorrow and Sunday. The car felt good and we have plenty to review tonight to be in better shape for Qualifying. We're focusing on ourselves and what we need to do to come away with a positive result."

Pierre Gasly: "It feels great to be back in the car after the summer break and back at this amazing track with its unique atmosphere. It's been fun to put in lots of strong laps and get back in the swing of driving. To finish sixth in Free Practice 2 is very positive for us and means we've had a great start to the weekend. We have some work to do on some finer details as the whole field is extremely tight. Tomorrow, every hundredth of a second will make a big difference in Qualifying. We made a good step between Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 and now we need to find a bit more for tomorrow."

Bruno Famin, Interim Team Principal: "Firstly, it's good to be back on track again. It's the first race with a slightly different trackside structure and it's been great to see collaborative work amongst staff members in implementing this new positive system. We have made a reasonable start to the race weekend here in Zandvoort where we've given ourselves a strong base to work from looking ahead to Saturday and Sunday. We have gathered a lot of data to run through to find some set-up changes to put ourselves in contention when it counts. We look forward to taking on the rest of the weekend and building off this good start."

Check out our Friday gallery from Zandvoort here.