In Qatar, Alpine earned six points thanks to Esteban Ocon’s seventh place finish. After the finish, the French driver spoke in detail about how bad he felt behind the wheel due to the extreme heat.
His teammate Pierre Gasly received three five-second penalties for trespassing and finished the race in twelfth place.
Esteban Ocon (7th): “A very difficult race from a physical point of view. It’s great that we managed to finish seventh and earn six points. I had a good start and moved up to fifth place. Thanks to the team for a competent strategy and well-executed pit stops.
The conditions in the car were extreme. I felt nauseous throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth laps and thought, “Ambush. There’s still a long way to go.” But I collected my thoughts and tried to focus on work.
I have never experienced anything like this in the past. I’ve always been able to do two race distances because I train hard for it. But today it was very hot not only outside, but also inside the car because of the engine. We did not take care of sufficient thermal insulation of the cockpit – the temperature in the car reached 80 degrees. I am glad that next year the race in Qatar will be held in December.”
Pierre Gasly (12th): “There was potential to earn points, so I’m disappointed with how the race turned out. Not the best day – I paid dearly for centimeter trips off the track. The result is disappointing because the speed allowed the team to earn a lot of points.
As the race progressed, minor problems arose with fuel consumption, which also led to a loss of time. In trying to compensate for this, I took unnecessary risks and exceeded the limit of what was acceptable. I will draw conclusions and move on.
The team had a pretty positive weekend, but we have a lot to learn. Now we are waiting for a structured series of stages, which will begin in Austin.”
2023-10-08 21:08:00
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