'We will fight with AlphaTauri and Aston Martin for fifth place'

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso returned to Formula 1 this season. At Alpine, the driver already showed some great performances, including the one over George Russell that earned him a point.

Russell was unlucky to go home without points at the Styrian Grand Prix and that was the case again in Austria. The Englishman was running in tenth place towards the end of the race but then lost the battle to Alonso.

However, the Spanish driver does not think Williams will be a threat to Alpine in the future. "I think they have made a step forward, but also we checked last year in Austria," he told Motorsport.com. "They started 11th, so it seems to be a circuit they perform really well at. So I think we need to wait a couple of races to see if they are fast or not."

Alonso is still expecting exciting races. "We will fight with AlphaTauri and Aston Martin for fifth place for sure. But I think it is more building the team structure, making fine tunes on the pit stops, on the strategy, on the tyre management, and many things that the we can to be as prepared as possible for 2022."