Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon from the Alpine F1 team were seen at the restart of the Japanese Grand Prix. Ocon acknowledged that the team’s performance during the race was a step back, making it difficult to compete against other teams. Alpine has been facing difficulties this season with their A524 car, which is overweight and uncompetitive. Despite some minor improvements, both Alpine cars finished at the back of the pack in Suzuka. Ocon believes that the contact between him and Gasly during the standing restart did not significantly impact his performance. He admits that they simply were not fast enough in the race and need to analyze the similarities between this race and the one in Bahrain. Ocon suggests that changes in the car’s setup may have affected their performance. Alpine tried to gain track position through strategic undercutting but failed to hold their position. Ocon expressed frustration at not being able to fight against other competitors due to Alpine’s weak pace and damage from the contact. He felt that the other teams were in a different league.
Meanwhile, Gasly expressed his frustration regarding the collision with his teammate more than Ocon, as it ruined his chances of achieving a better result after a good start at the restart.
“I passed the Haas, then Esteban, and found myself alongside Yuki,” he recounted. “At that moment, I was caught between the two drivers in an unfortunate racing incident.”
The French driver revealed that his car suffered “significant damage to the underside,” resulting in a loss of “30 points of downforce” on his A524 for the remainder of the race.
“From there, it was a very challenging race, and there wasn’t much we could do except push as hard as possible,” he added.
The Alpine team boss, Bruno Famin, acknowledged that “both cars had substantial decreases in downforce,” but supported Ocon’s view that this did not prevent a possible points finish.
“We are lacking speed and we must continue to improve in all aspects and introduce updates to the car,” stated Famin.
