Esteban Ocon expressed his frustration after experiencing what he described as the “worst qualifying session of the year,” failing to advance beyond Q1 at Zandvoort. As a result of this disappointing outcome, Ocon is set to start Sunday’s race from 17th on the grid, marking his lowest grid position since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Ocon’s performance stood in contrast to his teammate Pierre Gasly, who managed to secure a 12th place in the qualifying session. Ocon’s weekend as a whole was marred by what he termed “very strange behavior” from his car, compromising his overall performance.
When asked if there was more potential in the car during the session, Ocon responded in the negative, making his inability to progress to Q2 all the more disappointing. He highlighted his struggles with the rear end of the car and stability issues in certain corners that he previously excelled in.
Ocon acknowledged the need to find answers for the challenges he faced during the qualifying session. He noted that the issues he encountered seemed to have been present since the beginning of the weekend, and they became more pronounced in wet conditions.
Despite the setback, Ocon remained optimistic about his prospects for the race, pointing out that he and his team have overcome worse situations in the past and managed to perform well on race days. He expressed the hope that they can bounce back on Sunday.
One notable aspect for Ocon was that his difficulties did not appear to be linked to the specific track or the recent upgrades introduced by the Alpine team. He mentioned that there seemed to be something different causing the issues, and he emphasized the need for a thorough investigation to identify and address the underlying problems.
Ocon stated that further analysis would be conducted once the team has access to the data. While it might not be feasible to physically modify the car under certain circumstances, he believed that if a clear issue is identified, steps can be taken to rectify it.
As the race day approaches, Ocon and his team will focus on addressing the challenges they encountered during qualifying and aiming to improve their performance on the track.
