It was undeniably a great Friday (10) for Fernando Alonso and Alpine. The Spaniard finished both free practice sessions of the day, which marked the beginning of Formula 1 activities in Azerbaijan, within the top-5: 5th in the first session and 4th in TL2.

At the same time, Alonso was, in both sessions, the fastest driver in the last sector of the street track in Baku. The improvements that Alpine brought to the track seem to have already had an effect on the A522, but the two-time world champion was cautious.

"It was good, great day. Obviously, testing the new improvements of the car here in Baku, changes in the settings as well, which we are still analyzing. Some of that data is positive, some not so much. Hopefully we will have more to come tomorrow, but apparently we are fast here," said Alonso.

Fernando Alonso in Baku: calm, very calm at this time (Photo: Alpine)

"We've been in this same position on other Fridays, and from there on Saturday we're back to our normal, which is between seventh and tenth, so around. That's what we're hoping for tomorrow: just to fight to get into Q3 and hope we can do it," added the Spaniard, pouring some water on the beer.

Asked about Alpine's projected race pace in Azerbaijan, Alonso said that the long sequence of laps at the end of the second free practice - which, with full fuel, simulated just the speed for Sunday -, was satisfactory.

"It was okay. We know that on Sundays our weak point is tire degradation. We tried different solutions today and we seem to have evolved compared to Barcelona. The car is better on Saturdays than on Sundays, so it's important to maximize the potential in qualifying," said the two-time world champion.

GRANDE PRÊMIO follows all the activities of the Azerbaijan GP LIVE and IN REALTIME. On Saturday, TL3 is scheduled for 8am (GMT-3), while qualifying starts at 11am.

Alonso sees Alpine fast in Baku, but holds back expectations: "Rooting for Q3