Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)
Unexpected points for Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Esteban Ocon (Renault), an abandonment for Romain Grosjean (Haas): the first F1 Grand Prix of 2020, behind closed doors in Austria on Sunday, did not reserve the same fate for All the french people.
. Points for the return of Ocon
Returning to the Grand Prix for the first time since the end of the 2018 season, Esteban Ocon was disappointed with his qualifications, sanctioned by only fourteenth place on the starting grid. The race went better, the 23-year-old took advantage of a cascade of withdrawals and came out with an eighth place and four points. "Starting from fourteenth, it's a great effort, he rejoiced. The car was very good, the pace very good, I caught a lot of cars and I could fight until the end Now we have to make our lives easier on Saturday to start the race a little higher and we should be in the battle, "he urges. His Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who dropped out for cooling problems, is one of the many victims of this tough GP for mechanics.
. Gasly "would have signed" for this result
Twelfth of the qualifications, Pierre Gasly said to himself "in (his) just place" and admitted that his team was going to have to "work to integrate the top 10". The next day, he was seventh, with six points in the game, when he was on the verge of retirement after ten laps due to a brake problem! "If we had been told at the start of the weekend that we would be seventh, we would have signed right away," he said. We knew it would be complicated against the Renault, the McLaren and the Force India and, in the end, we stayed away from trouble until the end, we had some good fights and we score points (...) It's great to start running again (three and a half months after what should have been the start of the season in Australia in mid-March, editor's note) and this kind of race is very exciting! "reveled the 24-year-old driver.
. Grosjean straight away
The seasons follow each other and look alike for Romain Grosjean. Already in trouble last year, the Haas stable does not seem to have made a better copy this year. His brakes, which he had been asked to take care of at the start of the race, released the Frenchman after fifty laps out of 71, causing him to retire. "Obviously something is wrong in terms of cooling. We are going to look at that and try to fix things for next week (the Grand Prix of Styria is scheduled for Sunday on the same circuit, the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, editor's note ) ", commented the 34-year-old pilot. His concerns are, however, broader. "We seem to have the slowest car and it is very difficult to maneuver, especially in traffic, regrets the 34-year-old driver. We will have to work."
© 2020 AFP