Hungary – French Assessment: The Points Were Not Far Off!
This Hungarian Grand Prix was complicated for our French drivers, with none of them finishing in the points. Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean finished outside the Top 10, while Pierre Gasly did not get the chance to see the checkered flag.

Esteban Ocon (14th)
Qualified 14th, the Renault driver said he was disappointed with his qualification. Three places behind his garage neighbor, Daniel Ricciardo, the Frenchman lost another 3 at the start.
It was a calm race for Esteban Ocon, who was never able to overtake Daniil Kvyat for 12th place but was overtaken by Lando Norris’s McLaren. A disappointing race overall, considering Ricciardo’s impressive 8th place.
It was a difficult weekend from start to finish. Of course, we are not satisfied with it and it’s not a good result. We are all disappointed and we can only come back stronger. We must learn from it, move forward, and stay united as a team.
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« A lot happened during the race, but we made no progress in all conditions. We need to analyze this and work hard together to avoid this type of result. The first two races were okay, but there wasn’t enough progress for this one. »
« The first two races were okay, but there hasn’t been enough progress for this one. »
Romain Grosjean (16th)
It was another complicated Saturday for Romain Grosjean. Eliminated once again in Q1, the Haas was only more performant than the two Alfa Romeos, proof that Ferrari-powered cars have been experiencing many performance issues since the start of the season.
With the rapidly drying track at the start, Haas took the risky but rewarding gamble of having their drivers pit even before the start to switch to medium tires. This strategy allowed Magnussen and Grosjean to race in 3rd and 4th place respectively at the start. Unfortunately, this early stop left the drivers very vulnerable in the middle of the race. With his worn tires, Grosjean faced more difficulties than his teammate.
Finally, with his very worn hard tires against the much fresher hards of his opponents who opted for at least a two-stop strategy, Grosjean sank in the standings. And he did not benefit from the stopper Leclerc in the race like his teammate to slow down the pack behind. Penalized because of his team, which should not have made him change his tires at the start, the Haas driver received a 10-second penalty in his final classification, dropping him from 15th to 16th position.
« It was a good choice by the team from the start. I was warned on the radio that it was too dry for the intermediates. The first laps were a bit spectacular. The pace was good, but I had graining on my front-left tire, we didn’t protect it enough. »
Albon made a late overtaking move on me in the first corner, which damaged my front wing. The car had less performance after that. We tried but it didn’t work, I couldn’t stay in the points.
The pace was good, but I had graining on my front-left tire, we didn’t protect it enough.
Les premiers tours étaient un peu délicats mais après ça, tout a bien fonctionné. Le rythme était bon. J’ai commencé à avoir des soucis de graining sur le pneu avant gauche, nous ne l’avions pas assez protégé. Quoi qu’il en soit, ça allait, puis malheureusement – et je dois le revoir, Albon a fait un mouvement assez tardif sur moi au virage un, il a touché mon aileron avant et l’a endommagé. J’ai eu beaucoup moins de performance dans la voiture après ça. Nous avons essayé mais les choses se sont déréglées après ça, nous n’avons tout simplement pas pu rester dans les points.
Pierre Gasly (DNF)
In qualifying, Pierre Gasly managed to get his car into Q3. An achievement given the technical problems the Norman had encountered during the first free practice sessions, which deprived him of dry running time. Also during qualifying, Gasly complained about his engine. Ultimately, the AlphaTauri driver did not take part in Q3 in order to preserve his power unit.
The French driver had a difficult start. Overtaken by Daniel Ricciardo, Alexander Albon, and finally by his teammate Kvyat. As the laps went by, just like in Styria, the number 10 car sank in the rankings before its Honda engine went up in smoke, forcing him to retire. A second complicated race for Pierre Gasly, even though there was very likely a good result to be had this weekend.
« We had problems with the gearbox right from the start of the race. We tried to find solutions during the first laps but it wasn’t working, so we had to retire. »
« I asked the team if we could stop because I thought it was already good enough to go back. Also, knowing we started 10th, we didn’t want to take too many risks; I think the Haas didn’t have much to lose, so that’s why they did it. »