Double retirement of Alpine drivers in the first round in Hungary

For the Alpine team, the race in Hungary ended as soon as it started: Guanyu Zhou crashed into Daniel Ricciardo while braking before the first corner, the Australian hit Pierre Gasly’s car due to inertia, which then crashed into teammate Esteban Okon. Pierre and Esteban drove to the pits under their own power, where they got out.

The second race in a row ended for Alpine with a double retirement. As a result, McLaren’s Enstone team was 40 points behind in the battle for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Esteban Ocon (dismounting): “I have practically nothing to say. I am very disappointed that the race weekend ended when I was involved in a multi-car collision in the first corner of the first lap. I couldn’t do anything and both our cars stopped due to severe damage. Fortunately, everything is fine with me.

Now we have to pick ourselves up and come back stronger in Belgium next weekend. We need to put this behind us quickly to start the summer holidays in a good mood.”

Pierre Gasley (exit): “It is extremely unpleasant to end the weekend with a double exit in such conditions at the start of the race. I was the victim of a collision with other riders and there was nothing I could do to avoid it. A disappointing result after a good start, in which I gained back a number of positions.

Together with the team, we must quickly let go of what happened in the past. We will have another chance in Spa next weekend and we must seize it to go into the summer break with deserved points.”

Otmar Safnauer, team boss: “We are all disappointed with today’s race in which both our drivers suffered a first corner incident on the first lap. The domino effect of other riders colliding led to both of our pilots retiring.

The team is experiencing bitter emotions, but we must move forward with our heads held high and recover. Next week is the race in Spa, the final before the summer break. We go for the best result.”