After running three races without classification, Alfa returned to the points in both France and Austria and was only beaten by McLaren in the hunt for the established top 3.
At the Red Bull Ring last weekend, Alfa finished in the points for the first time in 2019 with two cars, when Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi both made it into Q3 and then finished ninth and tenth.
Although Alfa is 30 points and two places behind McLaren in sixth place in the constructors’ championship, team principal Frederic Vasseur said the next goal was to equal McLaren for absolute pace.
“I think we’ve made a good step forward in the last two or three races,” Vasseur told Autosport.
“We have to improve the pace a bit to be able to fight the McLarens who will be the next target.
“If you look at the last few races, they were up front, but we have good updates in the pipeline.
“We definitely have to take a step forward to fight them in the races.
“We have a package for Silverstone and some other updates for Germany and Hungary, but we have to be realistic, everyone pushes like hell and they’ll bring something too.”
Giovinazzi’s 10th place in Austria was his first points place of the season and Vasseur believes the mental boost the Italian will get from this breakthrough will be very helpful for Alfa.
“Antonio can now score points too, which is good for the team,” added Vasseur.
“He needs it because in the last few races he was very strong in qualifying, he did it with Kimi.
“At the same time, the races were a bit more difficult, so it was important for him to score points.
“At least he won’t be wondering when he’ll get the first points.
“The pace was there and he drove a very strong race and it was an important step in his own season.”
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