Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon entered the second part of qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, but could not compete for a place in the top ten. Pierre qualified higher than his teammate for the first time this season and recorded a twelfth fastest time.
Esteban set the thirteenth fastest time and explained this result to the engine’s operating mode, which left him with no power on the straights.
Pierre Gasly (12th): “The first part of qualifying went very well – I showed the fifth fastest time and was confident in the car. I liked the balance and grip.
In the second part we had to deal with traffic in the pit lane, which prevented us from completing the exit laps from the pits properly, which affected the grip of the tires on the track. However, I am very happy to have achieved my best qualifying result of the season. Too bad we couldn’t get more out of the tires because I was close to reaching the final. We have to keep working, but we have certainly made progress.
After the sprint we changed some things on the car. Although everything was fine in the morning, you are never 100% satisfied with the car, so the team changed a few things. We will find out in the race whether this was the right decision, but overall our pace is higher than normal.”
Esteban Ocon (13th): “Difficult qualification. Unfortunately, it was not possible to take a step forward in the field of car behavior. In addition, there was a slight lack of power, which caused me to lose a tenth on the straights. This clearly didn’t help considering how dense the results were.
We will use a different engine mode in the race and I hope this problem will not occur again on Sunday. In any case, we will do everything in our power. We always strive for more.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
