Fernando Alonso was able to place his BWT Alpine F1 Team car in fifth place for Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying session at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Friday afternoon.
The Spaniard has labelled the session as “messy” after many drivers made mistakes in the slippery conditions, with Alonso making a mistake at Acque Minerali when conditions were at their trickiest.
“It feels good to be in the top five after a messy qualifying with all of the changing conditions and red flags,” the two-time world champion says.
“With the wet weather changing the track all the time, anything can happen, so overall I’m pleased to be in the top five for tomorrow.
“The car felt fast in the last two rounds and I feel quite comfortable with the car here. Let’s see how we do tomorrow as there are points on offer in the Sprint and for the race on Sunday.”
“Suspected gearbox issue” saw Esteban Ocon’s day end before it started
Esteban Ocon will start the Sprint race in nineteenth place after not setting a representative time in Qualifying One due to an issue with his car, possibly surrounding his gearbox that saw him unable to be on track when conditions were at their best.
The Frenchman claims that the car feels good, despite the set back, and looks forward to making up places in the Sprint race on Saturday and actual race on Sunday afternoon.
“Our qualifying ended early, so that was a tough way for us to end the day. We’ve had a suspected gearbox issue, which is why I couldn’t complete the lap in Q1 and we pitted straight away. We will be looking closely at what happened,” Ocon states.
“Up until that point, the car felt good so it’s going to be all about getting it back for tomorrow in the Sprint and for Sunday’s Race. Still, there are two races to go this weekend, with potentially some rain as well, so there are still some opportunities to save our weekend. Let’s see what happens.”
In what was a bitter-sweet afternoon for the Alpine team, the blue and pink-themed cars will be hoping to take advantage of the opportunity for extra points this weekend.
