To leave your home Grand Prix with no points isn’t exactly what BWT Alpine F1 Team, Team Principle Otmar Szafnauer had in mind when his drivers lined up tenth and thirteenth after qualifying at the FIA Formula 1 World Championship British Grand Prix.
Esteban Ocon stopped with a hydraulic leak, while Pierre Gasly was forced to retire with suspension damage after a collision with Lance Stroll. To rub salt into the wounds of a double retirement, McLaren F1 Team, close rivals of Alpine, leapfrogged them in the constructors championship with a season-best haul of 30 points.
Despite a new front wing being introduced, which showed some promise both drivers were unable to showcase the full potential of the A523 over the course of the 52-lap race at Silverstone.
“It’s always a bitter feeling when you leave a Grand Prix without scoring points; especially our home race for Enstone at Silverstone,” said Szafnauer reflecting on the disappointing race weekend.
“Esteban retired with a hydraulic leak – a frustrating issue which we must resolve. It meant Esteban was not able to show his hand in the race, which is made even more disappointing given how the race played out.
“Pierre was extremely unfortunate. He made a great start from tenth and was well in the fight for a good result. The Safety Car was ill-timed for him, seconds after his pit-stop, which meant a handful of cars were able to benefit from a free-stop to jump Pierre,
“He made another good getaway at the Safety Car restart to climb his way towards the points but was twice unfortunate with Stroll’s double infringement; the second of which led to Stroll hitting Pierre causing suspension damage and bringing an early end to our race.”
Szafnauer believed a five-second penalty for taking Gasly out of the race was not harsh enough, but respected the stewards ruling. He and his team now look ahead to Budapest next weekend, where they will be hungry to bounce back.
