Esteban Ocon was left frustrated after a repeat of his electrical issues from Friday resurfaced during qualifying at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which left him unable to set a lap time and at the back of the field.
The Manor Racing driver felt he has shown strong pace throughout the weekend, but bemoaned not being able to show it during qualifying, and with team-mate Pascal Wehrlein making it through to Q2 for a second consecutive weekend, Ocon was especially annoyed to have to watch the session from the sidelines.
“The car just died,” revealed Ocon. “The dash went, the engine cut – I had no information. It looks like a repeat of yesterday’s electrical problem, but we’re taking a good look and exploring everything to make sure that doesn’t happen again tomorrow.
“We know the pace is in the car; I’ve been strong here all weekend, particularly this morning, which is why we expected great things from qualifying.
“Pascal showed how strong the car is, so congrats to him. These problems happen though and now I have to channel that frustration and energy into the race.
“We need to be focused because anything can happen here, especially with the opening lap and the tight corners at the end of long straights. I think we’ll see a great race tomorrow generally and I hope for me and the team too.”
