Zero points for the French drivers and end of the series for Alpine in Austin
As a team, the French drivers didn't score any points this weekend in Austin. Result: three retirements.
It was a nightmare Grand Prix for Alpine and Pierre Gasly. The drivers of the French team were both forced to retire. From the first moments of the race, Esteban Ocon was involved in a collision with Antonio Giovinazzi, forcing him to pit to change his front wing. A few laps later, the winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix threw in the towel due to a mechanical issue.
It was a difficult day for the whole team with Fernando and my retirement. We suspected a problem at the back of the car, hence our definitive stop. Our afternoon was compromised from the start with the contact with an Alfa Romeo in the first sector of the first lap. The car seemed fine, but we had to stop due to the damage to the front wing. The race was already shaping up to be complicated. It’s hard to digest, but the most important thing is to take stock and bounce back together. The goal is to come back stronger for the next series of races, confesses Esteban Ocon.
His teammate, Fernando Alonso, also suffered the same fate. The Spaniard retired voluntarily after noticing that his rear wing was broken. The French team is thus putting an end to his streak of 13 consecutive point-scoring races.
On his side, Pierre Gasly leaves the Circuit of the Americas empty-handed. Even before the start, the Normand had a scare on his car, but fortunately, his mechanics managed to solve the problem before the lights went out. During the race, the AlphaTauri driver was not as lucky as his suspension gave way, also forcing him to retire from the Grand Prix.
We had a suspension issue. It was very complicated, we had a sensor problem on the car just before the start, they managed to fix the issue. In the end, we had a suspension problem, and it worsened until it broke, he said on Canal + microphone.
