BWT Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon felt that his eighth place at the Spanish Grand Prix was the maximum they could have achieved. He was content with four points he earned, though he said that the pace of A523 couldn’t quite hold up to the front-runners.
“We leave Barcelona with double points again so I think we can be satisfied with our work this weekend. We finished eighth in the end and I don’t think there was much more we could have done today, with our race pace perhaps lacking a bit compared to our competitors who finished in front.”
Overall, Ocon was pleased with how the weekend played out, particularly with his Saturday result, qualifying in seventh place before being promoted to sixth on the grid due to his team-mate’s six-place grid penalty for impeding during qualifying.
The French driver is pleased with the team’s recent streak of performances– with three rounds in succession ending with double-points results– though he concedes that there is still much to be done in order to keep up their form.
“We’ll definitely take a look to see how we can improve that but, overall, it was a strong Saturday and a decent Sunday for us. We can be proud of the last couple of weeks but we know there is work to do to keep heading in the right direction.”
Between his podium at the Monaco Grand Prix and another solid finish in the points in Barcelona, Ocon has made a significant step in the driver’s standings, now sitting in ninth place with twenty-five points to his name.
“Another double points finish but we always strive for more” – Pierre Gasly
Team-mate Pierre Gasly’s grid penalty saw him miss out on what would have been his best start of the season, ultimately dropping from fourth down to tenth to start Sunday’s race. He remained in tenth place as the checkered flag fell, securing one point for the weekend.
Gasly was disappointed to lose out on such a strong grid position, and felt that his pace was worthy of battling in the sharp end of the points, rather than the margins of the top ten.
“Another double points finish but we always strive for more. On my side, it’s frustrating after such a strong qualifying yesterday and also the fact we showed good race pace today capable of fighting in the top six.”
Along with his grid drop, Gasly said that his start was a major hindrance in his race, losing four positions during the first lap. Nevertheless, Gasly is satisfied with A523’s performance in recent rounds and will be looking to build towards more lucrative results.
“Unfortunately, the penalties and the poor start had a big impact on my race, and we’ll collectively review to see what we can improve for next time.
“The car is performing well – that’s three points scoring finishes in a row – and we must keep striving for more. I’m looking forward to a bit of time off before taking on Canada in two weeks.”
