Alonso "new championship" begins after Azerbaijan

Fernando Alonso has described the opening stanza of the F1 championship as "not the best" for a newcomer and expects a "new championship" to start at the French Grand Prix.

Alonso has had a difficult start to his comeback to F1 after two years away, finishing in the top 10 just twice in five races with Alpine whilst team-mate Esteban Ocon has failed to score only once.

The two-time champion has struggled to get to grips with the steering on the A521 and whilst small updates are on their way, Alonso doesn't expect Baku to provide the change needed to kickstart his campaign.

Asked what impact the updates would have, Alonso replied: “I think it will be more when it is not a street track, so even Baku is a little bit of an unlucky moment.

"In a way, the start of the season is not the best possible calendar for a newcoming driver. I had Imola, I had Portimao as circuits that I was not racing on for years or never, like Portimao.

“And the guys, they were racing [there] four months ago in the championship. Then two street circuits in Baku and Monaco.

“So the first six circuits of the championship, four were extremely challenging to get used to.

“From France, a new championship hopefully starts for me but on the steering side, I hope we can get something that I can feel a little bit better the balance of the car and more feedback than what I feel now.”

Baku provides a different challenge to Monaco last time out with a much higher average speed despite being a street circuit.

Alonso is excited by the potential overtaking opportunities afforded by the 2.2km pit straight.

"It’s a challenging weekend for both car and driver and finding a good balance with the setup will be very important.

"After two races in a row where it was quite tough to overtake, it’s nice to have a race where it’s more possible."

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