Alpine's Vegas Misery: Ocon's Struggles

Alpine F1 departs Las Vegas empty-handed after Ocon’s pit stop issues and Gasly’s early retirement dashed their hopes for points.

Esteban Ocon finished second-to-last in the Las Vegas Grand Prix after an unnecessary pit stop. The Alpine F1 driver returned to the pit lane only to find his team unprepared, forcing him to pit again late in the race.

“I think we need to review exactly what happened, but unfortunately, we had to make an extra stop. It’s a shame because our pace wasn’t bad, and we were managing the tires well,” Ocon stated.

“After that, we tried to be very aggressive and stay out with just one stop because we were further back than we should have been. We went all-in, but it was too much, and we had to stop again at the end. It would have been a different race if we’d gotten everything right, but we didn’t.”

Alpine lost sixth place in the standings by a single point to Haas, with RB F1 now three points ahead: “It’s going to be tough, it’ll be close until the end of the year. Today, we missed opportunities and didn’t put everything together. They were better, and we need to bounce back.”

Pierre Gasly had high hopes after qualifying in an impressive third place, but his race was cut short when the engine of his A524 failed early in the Grand Prix.

“We suddenly lost the engine. We’ll look into the details, but there was an issue that stopped me from getting power and shifting properly, so I had to retire,” the Frenchman lamented.

“It’s heartbreaking because we had a good qualifying yesterday and were in a strong position. We knew the cars around us were faster, but we were set for a battle with Tsunoda for seventh or eighth. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it happen, and that’s tough.”

Tire degradation played a crucial role in the race, especially on the mediums, adding to Gasly’s frustration as he felt it increased his chances of a strong result: “We knew this would happen and that it could come quickly.”

“It was the rear tires; in Free Practice, it was the fronts. We could have stopped a lap or two earlier, but it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. There were going to be opportunities, but we couldn’t stay in the fight.”

Team principal Oliver Oakes also expressed his disappointment after the race: “This is not the result we hoped for today. An engine issue prematurely ended Pierre’s race.”

“With Esteban, a mistake during his first stop forced him into making two pit stops. We need to put this weekend behind us. Our pace yesterday and during the race highlights our recent progress and gives us reasons to be optimistic heading into the final two events of the season.”

Oakes also acknowledged the new four-time Formula 1 World Champion, Max Verstappen: “Congratulations to Max on his fourth title. It’s an incredible achievement.”