Performance of the French: two entries in the top 10 with Grosjean and Ocon

Romain Grosjean: 8th

The Haas driver finally performs on an urban circuit in 2018! After two nightmare races in Baku (retirement, inexplicable crash under Safety Car) and Monaco (18th on the grid, 15th at the finish), Romain Grosjean showed his skills on the winding track of Singapore. Nearly a second faster than Magnussen in Q1, the former Lotus driver made it to Q3 on the last attempt, knocking Fernando Alonso out of the top ten. One chance was enough for him to climb to 8th place, as he chose to skip the first run.

However, his goal was the front position: I was aiming for the 7th place, the Genevan confided to the Canal+ microphone, once out of the car. But I made a mistake in turn 21, where Vettel hit the wall yesterday. I don’t know how the car came back. I lost three-tenths there.

Effort obliged, the competitor with the number 8 was still feeling the strain when it came time to speak with journalists. Even though there was satisfaction in the end.

It’s still a great performance: I’m happy to be ahead of the Renaults. It’s always a real challenge to drive in Singapore. You sweat, it’s hot, it’s hard, the walls are very close. But we worked well. There’s especially a difference with Monaco, where we had qualified 18th and 19th. Being in Q3 just behind the best, that’s good!

Proof of his strong form, Romain Grosjean secures an eighth consecutive top 10 finish in qualifying, a streak that began at the French Grand Prix nearly three months ago. With his seat still uncertain for 2019, his consistency is crucial. Tomorrow, he will need to break the bad luck of urban circuits by collecting additional points, currently standing at 27.

.@RGrosjean set to start his eighth straight #Q3 session and his 11th overall this season. #Quali pic.twitter.com/Hzxr3iOqdM

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) September 15, 2018

Esteban Ocon: 9th

In an obviously difficult personal context, the Racing Point (Force India) driver continues to do the job. 3rd in Belgium, 8th at Monza, and one place down this time in Singapore: the announcement of his replacement by Lance Stroll doesn’t affect him, at least once the visor is lowered. Like Grosjean, Ocon was in the thick of the fight to make it to Q3, also qualifying on his last lap.

9th in the end, the main person involved first focused on the positives of the session. « I am quite satisfied with my result. We currently have a good car, the innovations have worked: the team can be satisfied. »

Faced with his teammate, Sergio Pérez, Ocon ultimately concedes four-tenths after being outpaced in Q1 and Q2. Could his performance have been more dazzling? “My Q3 lap wasn’t ideal because I hit the wall and it cost me time,” admits the Mercedes protégé in response.

For the race, the goal will obviously be to seize the opportunities of this atypical race, near the walls and therefore the Safety Car. The stage is set with the driver’s words: I’m confident for tomorrow. Above all, we need to stay away from trouble and be opportunistic. It’s not easy to overtake here, so the first lap will be really important. I think we have the pace to score good points.

Never two without three? Ocon secured sixth place at Spa and Monza. Continuing his series wouldn’t be a bad idea for some publicity for 2019, and beyond.

Into Q3 and a good starting position for tomorrow 🔥😉!
En Q3 et une bonne position de départ pour demain🔥😉!
#EO31 #f1nightrace pic.twitter.com/RHMQQAtGKQ

— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) September 15, 2018

Pierre Gasly: 15th

The Toro Rosso driver remained in the shadow of his two teammates, with a very average position. And even though the future Red Bull driver made it out of the first phase, two-tenths ahead of Brendon Hartley, there were no miracles in Q2, with the slowest time of the 15 entrants. His highlight of the day was edging out Kevin Magnussen in his Haas at the last moment.

But on Canal+ microphone, Pierre Gasly was not happy with his set-up. “Like yesterday, unfortunately, we were not performant,” the Norman admitted before adding. “We barely managed to get out of Q1, but we knew it was going to be complicated. It’s a shame: we thought the circuit would suit our car. In the end, we are lost in the settings!”

The acknowledgment of powerlessness is quite surprising for the Toro Rosso-Honda duo, who were in fine form in Monaco. At the time, Pierre Gasly had secured the 10th fastest time in qualifying and seventh in the race. This is the example to which the Rouen native clung before heading into debriefing:

« Singapore is a circuit where it is difficult to overtake. Then we can extend the stint with hyper-soft tires, like in Monaco, where we managed to be performant over long stints. We remain optimistic but we lack performance. We need to understand why. »

Happy to go through to Q2, after tough Friday for us. Lets see what we can achieve tomorrow in the race 🇨🇵🇨🇵🇨🇵 pic.twitter.com/EmFbY2Suov

— Pierre Gasly 🇫🇷 (@PierreGASLY) 15 septembre 2018