French Review: Gasly “incredible” 6th with Grosjean 10th
The trials were promising for the French at the Hungaroring, but not everyone was able to fully express themselves during the qualifications. Pierre Gasly clinches the third row ahead of Max Verstappen, Romain Grosjean is not satisfied with his 10th place. A sad 18th, Esteban Ocon was unlucky in Q1.
Pierre Gasly: 6th
At the checkered flag, the Frenchman can’t believe it. The performance was already unprecedented for Toro Rosso to have reached Q3 with both cars, but the driver with the number 10 grabs everything by beating the driver from the parent team, Max Verstappen. It’s safe to say that the rain played a crucial role because, in Q1, the Frenchman achieved a difficult 14th place.
Upon setting foot on the ground, the Rouennais is more than happy « It’s incredible. I am very happy, especially for the team. » He also thinks about his team. This performance will remotivate the troops after several challenging Grand Prix races « It feels good for everyone. We managed to get both cars in Q3, it’s a great day. »
YEESSS P6 in qualifying!!!!
So proud of @ToroRosso, amazing job!!! What a crazy qualifying!!! 😅 pic.twitter.com/B8ajfdii9u— Pierre Gasly 🇫🇷 (@PierreGASLY) 28 juillet 2018
Romain Grosjean: 10th
Qualified without real difficulty in Q2 then Q3, the Franco-Swiss is not at all satisfied with his time in Q3. The reason being, he accuses Max Verstappen of having hindered two of his attempts. He still chooses to see the glass half full: “It’s the first time this weekend that we raced in the rain, there was quite a lot to learn, and I think we can take some positives from it.”
Which does not prevent him from having a grudge against the Dutchman « I’m still disappointed at the end because [Max] Verstappen blocked my last two laps maliciously, so it wasn’t great » For this action, Verstappen and Grosjean were summoned by the race stewards to clarify things.
Despite the procedure, the Frenchman is thinking about the race and the championship. We’ll take what comes. We already have a Renault behind us, which is positive, but there is also one in front. He allows himself the right to hope for better. It remains a difficult circuit for overtaking, but maybe with alternative strategies, we can try something.
Tough conditions out there in quali today but very happy with @HaasF1Team getting the 2 cars into top 10 ! #r8g #HungarianGP
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) 28 juillet 2018
Esteban Ocon: 18th
Bad luck struck at the worst possible moment for Esteban Ocon. Like Lewis Hamilton at Hockenheim, the Frenchman experienced a technical problem with his car in Q1, which is never pleasant. « It’s disappointing to be eliminated in Q1. We had an issue with the brakes that held us back. I went back to the pits when the track improved, and my brake pedal became loose. »
Despite everything, he didn’t give up and tried to do his best. We tried to optimize the situation but of course, I couldn’t drive at 100%. We had a lot more up our sleeve. Especially since the conditions turned to their advantage. The weather was very uncertain and we could have taken advantage of the situation because usually, the car is good on a wet track.
For tomorrow, points remain the target in the race « We can come back tomorrow and we will do everything to finish in the points. »
We had to brake failure in quali🙄 Busy day ahead tomorrow ✌🏻😉!
On a eu une rupture de frein en qualif🙄 Grosse journée à faire demain ✌🏻😉! #EO31 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/SLALKSoySW— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) 28 juillet 2018
