Gasly Qualifies 8th for Sprint, Ocon Struggles in Qatar

Pierre Gasly secured 8th for Alpine F1 in Sprint Qualifying, while Esteban Ocon faces another tough challenge, starting 18th in Qatar.

Alpine F1 will start the Sprint in Qatar from a points-scoring position, thanks to Pierre Gasly’s 8th place.

The Frenchman leads key championship rivals Nico Hülkenberg and Liam Lawson, which he views as a positive.

“I’m happy with P8 for the Sprint. The top four teams were very fast, so I think we got the best result we could today. We’re ahead of a Haas and an RB2, our competitors in the championship.”

“Our Free Practice sessions were good, and I felt comfortable in those conditions. However, I wasn’t as comfortable in Sprint Qualifying and we had to work hard to get out of SQ1 and SQ2, gradually improving our times.”

“Tomorrow, the top eight will score points, so we’re in the fight. The championship is tight, so I expect a battle with Haas and RB F1 in the Sprint. We need to aim for points and give everything we’ve got.”

Esteban Ocon, however, struggled and was eliminated in SQ1, starting the Sprint from 18th.

“It was a tricky evening, and we couldn’t put together a better lap to qualify higher up the Sprint grid.”

“We need to keep working with the team to find more performance and understand a few things. We’ll try to seize any opportunity in the race tomorrow, as a lot can happen in these fast-paced sessions.”

“We’ll also have a new opportunity with qualifying, so I hope we can learn from tonight and make improvements before that session.”