In the Saudi GP’s FP2, Pierre Gasly’s ninth place signals a potential uplift for Alpine F1, hinting at much-needed progress.
Pierre Gasly’s ninth-place finish in FP2 of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix might seem trivial. However, for an Alpine F1 team that was relegated to the back row of the grid last week, signs of progress can be very encouraging, pending confirmation that they are indeed there.
“It’s great to be back in Jeddah. It’s such a different style compared to Bahrain with very high-speed sequences. In terms of pace, we seem to be a bit more competitive than last week, but it’s just the start of the weekend, and there’s still a long way to go. The feeling behind the wheel is always a challenge. There are some limits, but there are also positive points to exploit. I remain calm. We have a good working base, and we can clearly do more to extract more performance from our current package. I’m looking forward to tomorrow when it really starts to count.”
Ocon’s Challenge in Jeddah
Esteban Ocon was further back in FP2 with 13th place, which was also his ranking in FP1, when Gasly was much more reserved. The team could at least aim for Q2 this weekend if they confirm this level.
“It was an interesting day in Jeddah, and I’m happy to get back behind the wheel on this fascinating circuit. We had two solid sessions with many laps completed with both high and low fuel loads, so we’ve collected a lot of data and learnings for the future. We have work to do to improve the car and set it up as best as possible by tomorrow. There are a few areas we need to work on, but it was an encouraging Thursday. We’ll see what we can do in qualifying tomorrow night.”
Alpine F1 Saudi Progress f1 2024. Alpine F1 Saudi Progress f1 2024.
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