Fernando Alonso set the fifth fastest time in qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the Spanish rider’s best result of the season. His Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon finished early in the first session due to gearbox problems.
Fernando Alonso (5th): “It’s great to be in the top five after a hectic qualifying in mixed weather conditions and a plethora of red flags. The track was constantly changing, anything could happen, so I’m happy to start in the top five tomorrow.
In the previous two races the car was fast and in Imola I also feel comfortable behind the wheel. Let’s see how we perform tomorrow – points will be played in the sprint and in Sunday’s race.”
Esteban Ocon (19th): “My qualifying ended earlier than planned – unpleasant results of the day. We suspected a gearbox problem, so I went straight back to the pits and was unable to complete the fastest lap in the first part of qualifying. We will study everything carefully to find out the reason.
So far the car has been fast, so in the sprint and on Sunday I will try to regain the positions. There are two races left this weekend, rain is possible, so I have a chance to recover. Let’s see how things unfold.”
Alan Permain, sporting director: “Qualifying left us with a bittersweet taste when one of our riders had bad luck. Esteban had gearbox problems in the first session – we will find out what caused it.
Taking Fernando as an example, we saw that the car has a fast pace, so it’s a shame that Esteban couldn’t show its true potential, especially given that he has excelled in similar circumstances in the past.
Fernando had no problems during the session, the car was fast on dry and wet surfaces and he is happy with the balance of the car in all conditions. Fernando starts fifth from the free side of the track, so he’s in a great sprint position.
Esteban has a fast car at his disposal, so he has the opportunity to regain positions – the weekend is certainly not over for him. We will try to do our best in the sprint to improve our own chances in the race.”
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
