It was an unusual sight in the final minutes of the first qualifying round. While everyone else was out on the track, both Alpines remained in the garage. The result was disastrous: P19 (Pierre Gasly) and P20 (Esteban Ocon). A costly miscalculation. “This hits hard.”
There was reason for some optimism in recent weeks. After a poor start to the season, the French team managed to scrape together some World Championship points. Both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon thought they had a chance to earn more in Hungary. However, their prospects were completely clouded after the botched qualification. A mistake of their own making. Team boss Bruno Famin finds it embarrassing that such a big miscalculation was made with so much knowledge at the pit wall.
“We made a mistake by being the only ones to keep the cars in the garage while the track was drying up at the end of the session. And it hits hard. It’s bitter to be knocked out in such a way,” concludes the Frenchman. “We apologize to the drivers for not giving them the chance to improve their time. We will discuss this in the debrief and take measures to ensure this never happens again.”
“We were completely wrong,” agrees Gasly. “In such unpredictable conditions, there are usually all sorts of opportunities. And we need to seize them,” says the Frenchman. “Simply put: we must do better.” The chance of World Championship points seems to be lost for Alpine in advance. “But we are a team of fighters,” believes Famin. “We never give up.”