Only one Alpine driver made it to the final qualifying phase: Esteban Ocon set the tenth fastest time and hopes to earn points in Sunday’s race. His teammate Pierre Gasly qualified thirteenth and is also aiming for a place in the top ten.
Esteban Ocon (10th): “A busy day in Austria – first there was a sprint and then we qualified. It wasn’t easy to earn points in the sprint because they are only awarded to the top eight and I had to ride the entire distance on a rolled-in set of tires.
I am happy with the qualifications and the fact that I reached the final like yesterday. Today there was a more intense fight in the middle of the peloton, with minimal gaps between a large number of cars. We were consistently in the top ten, which allowed us to start in tenth place, although there was a chance to take ninth position, but not higher, as the first four teams are far ahead.
We decided to use three sets of new Soft tyres in the second part of qualifying to guarantee a place in the final, but this meant we could not fight for ninth place with Nico Hulkenberg. The aim of the race is to stay in the top ten and earn points.”
Pierre Gasly (13th): “Not the easiest day for us in Austria. Firstly, the sprint had a difficult start with skidding wheels, which caused me to lose positions. Then I got stuck in traffic and couldn’t do anything to earn points.
After the sprint we changed the settings to make the car faster on the straights. However, from the first lap the balance was far from optimal, the car was constantly sliding and in qualifying I couldn’t complete a lap. Sometimes changing settings helps, sometimes not.
I hope that the adjustments made will help in tomorrow’s race and that we can fight for the points. I believe that because of our pace we can count on a place in the top ten. It is positive that we are participating in the battle – we will see what results we can achieve in the race. There will be a fierce battle for ninth and tenth place, and I am confident that we will succeed.”
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.
