Esteban Ocon shone during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. A promising performance for Alpine ahead of the main race.
During the eventful qualifying sessions for the Brazilian Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon stood out with an excellent performance at the wheel of his Alpine. The French driver took fourth place on the grid, an encouraging result for his team, although he was secretly hoping for an even better place.
Solid performance despite risky adjustments
After securing a place on the second row, Ocon did not hide his satisfaction. Asked by Canal+he expressed his enthusiasm: “I’m glad I got up at 4:30 for this!”
Ocon underlines the importance of these changing weather conditions which allow performances to be leveled between the cars, thus giving teams like Alpine a chance to shine against the leading teams.
The French driver, however, admitted a slight disappointment regarding his last lap: “We tried something new, and that could have allowed us to aim for third place. But in the end, it was a good performance, especially considering our season so far.”
Despite this small regret, Ocon remains confident for the upcoming race, where he hopes to take advantage of his advantageous position.
Pierre Gasly frustrated by a difficult qualification
For his part, Pierre Gasly experienced a frustrating qualifying session, marked by difficulties in Q2. The French driver will start from the second half of the grid after finishing with the 15th time, a result which leaves him bitter.
Gasly did not hide his disappointment, pointing out strategic choices which, according to him, could have been better managed.
“You have to manage to string together the laps, but in Q2, I couldn't even complete a lap on intermediate tires. There were a lot of things that didn't work, and that annoys me” he confided.
Visibly frustrated, he added: “I'm not going to go into details, but we could have done things differently. Now we'll have to focus on getting back on track.”
A defining race for Alpine
Despite this frustration, Gasly keeps in mind the main objective: to score points during the race.
“It’s this afternoon that everything will be decided” he concluded, emphasizing the importance of catching up during the race.
While the Brazilian Grand Prix promises to be intense, the Alpine team intends to get the best out of its two drivers to score crucial points in this demanding season.
