Grand Prix of Portugal – French Performances: Very Good Race for Gasly and Ocon!
Our French drivers showed a great pace during this Grand Prix with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon finishing in the points. Only Romain Grosjean, aboard his still mediocre Haas, did not achieve this feat.
Pierre Gasly (5th)
While his car had caught fire during Free Practice 3, the AlphaTauri mechanics did an incredible job to get the Frenchman’s car ready for qualifying. An amazing feat that allowed the Norman to reach another Q3 this season, beating his teammate Daniil Kvyat for the 11th time in this exercise.
Starting 9th, Pierre Gasly lost a position at the start, quickly recovered in the first laps. By the 10th lap, the Norman regained some form by overtaking Räikkönen for 8th position and Daniel Ricciardo the following lap for 7th, and finally Lando Norris. The AlphaTauri driver showed an incredible pace at the start of the race.
Managing to take care of his soft tires well, Gasly managed to reach the 29th lap to switch to medium tires. But he was overtaken by Daniel Ricciardo, who took advantage of much fresher medium tires against the cooler tires of the AlphaTauri.
Finally, Gasly climbed up to fifth place, notably passing Sergio Perez’s Racing Point after a very fine maneuver. Nearly two months after his victory in Monza, AlphaTauri’s spearhead brings home the second-best result of his 2020 season.
« It was an incredible race. I really loved it, we were on the offensive the whole race. I managed to get past the McLarens, the Renaults, and the Racing Point at the end. His maneuver was really dangerous, with Sergio (Pérez), that’s often the case. Then I was very happy to overtake him from the outside the following lap.
When I’m given a car capable of enabling me to push, things go very well, and that’s what AlphaTauri does, so I’m really satisfied. They’re doing an amazing job; it hasn’t been easy for the whole team. They had to rebuild the car from Friday to Saturday, but we managed to make it to Q3 and finish 5th today.
« It was an incredible race. I really enjoyed it; we were on the attack the whole race. »
Esteban Ocon (8th)
After very strong recent Grand Prix, highlighted by a podium in Germany, Renault seemed a bit more challenged this weekend. The Portimao circuit did not suit the RS20, which was evident in Free Practice and qualifying, with the Renaults only in 10th and 11th, favoring Daniel Ricciardo. Even though Esteban Ocon was not far behind his teammate once again, it was the Frenchman trailing.
On a strategy different from most of his opponents, Ocon fully capitalized on his alternate strategy to put in laps alone and thus best protect his medium tires.
After 55 laps, the Frenchman finally decided to stop at the pit to put on soft tires. Ocon came out in 8th position, only 5 seconds behind Pierre Gasly, who was in 6th place.
Alas, the soft tires were no match for the medium tires, even though they were worn. Therefore, it’s an 8th place finish for Esteban Ocon, who managed to have an excellent race by finishing ahead of his teammate.
I think we stopped at the end because we had to, but it was really great. The car performed really well throughout the first stint. There was very good communication with the team, and we managed everything well.
We lost some time with the stops, that’s the problem we have with the guys, but overall, I’m very happy to bring both cars into the points. It wasn’t an easy weekend for us in terms of performance, so it’s really a good result for us.
« It wasn’t an easy weekend in terms of performance so it’s really a good result for us. »
Romain Grosjean (16th)
After scoring points in Germany, this Portuguese Grand Prix was a harsh return to reality for Romain Grosjean and his team. A complicated race that comes after the announcement that the Frenchman would no longer be with Haas next year.
18th in qualifying, the only strong point to take away from this session for the Frenchman was having beaten his teammate Kevin Magnussen.
The race for the French driver is, as often this year, anonymous and very difficult, with a meager 16th place at the finish. Constantly battling with the Williams, the Alfa Romeo, and his teammate, there seems to be no reason for hope this season for Haas.
« The first lap was rather funny, it started to rain, and it was slippery everywhere. After that, we had no acceleration at the end of the first corner, so I couldn’t get close to the other drivers even though I think we had a lot more pace than some. I always found myself stuck behind someone, and it was impossible to overtake. So yes, it’s a shame. »
