Esteban Ocon’s consecutive Q2 qualification at Suzuka marks a notable stride in Alpine F1’s journey, blending ambition with a clear vision for growth.
Esteban Ocon successfully advanced to Q2 for the second consecutive race, and achieving this at Suzuka, a demanding circuit, indicates progress for Alpine F1. The French driver is not yet satisfied, but acknowledges the potential for improvement, even though scoring points will not be straightforward.
“Before the session, we didn’t think we’d make it to Q2. We assessed our expected position and believed it was well outside of Q2, so we can consider this a positive outcome,” Ocon told Canal+. “It’s not truly satisfying because it’s not our ultimate goal, but we made it to Q2.”
“Similar to in Australia, we maximized the car’s performance; we had a temperamental car in FP3 and improved it for qualifying. I’m pleased to have maximized its potential but it’s still not enough, and we must continue to strive to maximize everything each weekend. We hope for circumstances that will allow us to score points.”
“Specific events, such as incidents, safety cars, or red flags, need to occur for us to be in contention for points. In Australia, without the tear-off issue, we could have competently battled for points. We’ll see what happens tomorrow; cooler conditions than last year might be advantageous for us.”
“Excessive” overheating for Gasly
Pierre Gasly experienced his lap spoiled by excessive tire overheating, which rapidly deteriorated the tires. The French driver is puzzled by the significance of this issue at Suzuka: “We had a strong first sector, the car handled well in turns 2, 3, and 4.”
“In turns 5 and 6, I experienced rear tire sliding, in 7 there were minor slides, and from turn 9 onwards, I encountered a significant snap, and the degradation continued throughout the lap.”
“The tires overheated far too early in the lap, and we need to determine if there were any different actions we should have taken during the warm-up lap or in how we brought the tires into their optimal range, as the degradation over the lap was substantial.”
He remains hopeful for a better race performance: “Yes, I’ve just got out of the car and the feedback was quite clear. But we’ll analyze this with the team; there are several potential strategies for tomorrow with the cars we are competing against, but we need to understand how we could have performed better.”
Ocon’s Q2 Advance Signals Alpine F1 Progress. Ocon’s Q2 Advance Signals Alpine F1 Progress
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