Esteban Ocon struggled to defend and attack at Imola, finishing 14th due to Alpine’s A524 lack of speed, while Pierre Gasly lamented a failed two-stop strategy.
Esteban Ocon could not do better than 14th at Imola during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The Alpine F1 driver tried to fight as best as he could, with several overtakes on the outside at the first corner, but he admitted to Canal+ that the lack of top speed hurt his performance.
“It was tough, the whole race we struggled to fight. We lacked top speed, making it difficult to defend and attack. We knew the compromise suited us, but we missed the speed in this race. There are a lot of things we need to work on and understand, but we’ll start again next week and try to do better,” said the Frenchman.
Having scored a podium last year in Monaco, where F1 heads next weekend, Ocon does not want to get his hopes up this year: “We need to stay realistic and not get carried away. This year is tough for us, so we need to focus on doing our best, optimizing the car in Monaco, and seeing where it takes us.”
Pierre Gasly attempted a two-stop strategy but admits it was a mistake. He seems to be seeking answers from his team: “We had to try something different. It didn’t go as expected. I had to take eight or nine blue flags, losing us two seconds.”
“There are things to review because we missed the mark, but it was going to be tough to have a good race. Early in the race, I was close to Ricciardo and Hülkenberg, and we ended up very far from them, so we need to review what we could have done better.”
Alpine Struggles: Ocon’s Imola Battle, Gasly’s Strategy Woes. Alpine Struggles: Ocon’s Imola Battle, Gasly’s Strategy Woes
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