Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – French Summary: Nightmare for Gasly and Ocon
It was a nightmare weekend for our French drivers with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon forced to retire before mid-race and Romain Grosjean out of the Top 10.
Romain Grosjean
Qualified 16th, the Haas driver was not far from making it to Q2; unfortunately, once again, the Frenchman was eliminated in the first part of the qualifying session.
Finally, Romain Grosjean took part in another race he is accustomed to this season. That is to say, racing anonymously in the middle of the pack with no hope of finishing in the points. He finished 14th, second to last, just ahead of Alexander Albon who spun out during the Safety Car restart.
Esteban Ocon: Retirement
Qualified 12th, Esteban Ocon was once again beaten in qualifying by his teammate Daniel Ricciardo (5th). A mediocre Saturday for the Norman, but he could benefit the next day from starting with the alternative strategy that could be a good asset.
Leading a rather anonymous race in the middle of the pack, the Frenchman sees all his hopes for points evaporate in the 30th lap due to a gearbox problem. This is Esteban Ocon’s 4th retirement this season.
« We had several problems during this race. We had a clutch problem and a transmission issue at the end. So several things went wrong. It’s a difficult weekend, a bit of bad luck this weekend. We’ll have to come back stronger.
[i>Esteban Ocon on Ricciardo’s podium] I’m really happy that we can achieve good results like this. The team’s progress has been gaining momentum for some time. »Pierre Gasly: Retirement
This weekend was promising for Pierre Gasly, who had shown very good form in Free Practice, which he then confirmed in qualifying with a brilliant 4th place.
The Norman had the best start among the top four, so he found himself side-by-side with Lewis Hamilton but with nowhere to go. Forced to ease off the accelerator, he lost a position to Daniel Ricciardo.
A position that the Frenchman will never have the chance to regain because he is forced to retire as early as the 9th lap, while a very good result was promised to Pierre Gasly.
« I am very sad to have to retire. We had a water pressure leak on the car. The mechanics tried to fix it on the grid but unfortunately it didn’t work, so we had to retire.
I had a good start compared to the drivers around me. I managed to get to Lewis with a bit more speed, but it was a bit tricky; I had to back off, otherwise I would have ended up in the grass, which made me lose a place to Daniel. It’s a shame because we had a good opportunity this weekend.
