The Alpines will start in the first part of the peloton tomorrow at the start of the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon beat his team-mate Pierre Gasly for the entire session. The Ebroic Pilot signs the 7th stopwatch on the very fast circuit of Jeddah where he has always obtained good results (4th in 2021
, 6th in 2022
). Gasly, ranked 10th, had a lot of trouble getting out of Q1 and Q2 (see below) but he was able to take his Alpine into the top 10. This bodes well for his race pace posted two weeks ago at the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain
. Ocon and Gasly will gain a position on the starting grid due to the 10-place penalty imposed on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Summary of qualifications below.
Q1: Qualifications with the forceps of the two Alpines, badly embarked after their first runs (Ocon 15th, Gasly 19th). The two Normans embark on their last lap with the knife between their teeth and manage to climb into the top 15 to get out of this Q1. Esteban Ocon got the 12th time, Gasly the 14th (qualified with 0.05” ahead of the first eliminated: Tsunoda). The new Alpine driver came close to a second consecutive elimination in Q1.
Q2: The two Alpines find rhythm and cross the cut. Quite clearly for Esteban Ocon, author of the 7th time, more difficult for Pierre Gasly, last qualified with the 10th time. This time the Rouennais is 0.04” ahead of Magnussen (Haas) the first eliminated! This Q2 is marked by the abandonment of Max Verstappen, victim of a mechanical failure of his Red Bull (broken transmission). The double world champion will start from the back of the grid.
Q3: Esteban Ocon set the fastest time of the two Alpines by climbing to 7th position, ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. He couldn’t really hope for more, the gap is too big with the Red Bulls, the Ferraris and the Aston Martins. No surprise for Pierre Gasly, ranked 10th as in Q2. But the Norman was able to reassure himself by integrating the top of the grid, two weeks later his failure to qualify for the Bahrain Grand Prix
.
