Alonso: We had a misunderstanding with the team

Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. After the session, Okon complained about overheating tires and Alonso said he didn’t have time to start the decisive attempt in the first part due to a misunderstanding with the team.

Esteban Ocon (12th): “Not the best day. We are certainly disappointed with the result, as we know the machine is capable of more. The tires overheated a bit during qualifying, so I tried to drive as slow as possible on the exit lap. In such circumstances it was difficult to reach the final.

Tomorrow there are several options for strategy that will make the race interesting. We will be able to use different tire compounds and we know that strategy is very important to get a good result.

I’m starting from a higher position than in Miami. Let’s see what we can do to earn points.”

Fernando Alonso (17th): “Qualifying proved difficult for me and on my last lap in the first session there was a misunderstanding with the team. I thought I had one or two seconds left to start a fast lap, but in reality I was twenty seconds short. You will have to pay a high price, because overtaking on this track is very difficult.

Let’s see what happens tomorrow. In previous races there had been instances where drivers were behind but then made up for it by leaving the safety car on track and finishing in the top ten. Let’s hope something like this happens tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get lucky and I’ll earn points. Today the car was not as fast as on Friday. You have to understand what’s causing it.”

Otmar Safnauer, Team Principal: “We are disappointed with the qualifying result, it was not what we had hoped for. We haven’t been able to unleash the machine’s full potential after Friday’s encouraging practice.

Unfortunately, none of our cars made it into the top ten for a variety of reasons. In Fernando’s case, there was a timing issue – he got stuck in traffic on the exit circle of the pits, making all his efforts in vain. Esteban entered the second part but was unable to make the top ten due to a combination of several factors, although we thought the car had enough speed to reach the final.

Tomorrow is a new day. In Miami we were also disappointed after qualifying, but then we had a strong race, so nothing has been lost yet. We will try to develop the best strategy – I am sure Fernando and Esteban will do everything they can to earn themselves back.”