Budkowski: 'Behind Mercedes and Red Bull there is no midfield, just a field'

Alpine, formerly Renault, is one of the teams that performed a strong winter test. But despite the promising data, Budkowski doesn't dare draw any conclusions yet about where they stand. "Honestly I don't know, it's hard to say," says Budkowski in conversation with Formula1.com. "I don't think there's a midfield anymore, just a field."

Strong field behind Mercedes and Red Bull

He continued: "We still expect Mercedes to be upfront, even though they've had some problems and were probably sandbagging in the test. From Red Bull Racing we also expect them to be strong. But behind them, there is just a field, and where we are in that field is hard to say."

"I think we will be competitive, but McLaren looks good and fast. Also, Aston Martin look fast if they are driving." Another interesting new factor at Alpine is Fernando Alonso, who Budkowski says was immediately on top form as soon as he stepped in. "He was right on top of things. He was immediately fast, reliable and gave great feedback to the engineers. That's what you expect from Fernando", Budkowski said.