Esteban Ocon didn’t hold back in expressing his frustrations with his team, Alpine, during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. The team made a critical error by not sending their cars out at the end of Q1 after a red flag, resulting in both Ocon and teammate Pierre Gasly being eliminated early.
Despite further rain before the Q1 session resumed, all teams except Alpine seized the opportunity to get back on track. As the circuit improved, it became too late for Alpine to act, leading them to fall into the bottom five.
Ocon pointed out that they were in a promising position, sitting 10th and 12th initially. “We were 10th when we were on track,” he explained. “We thought we were going to be 17th, 18th, 16th maybe at best this session… but we were 10th and 12th, so it was better than what we were expecting.” The decision not to get back on track when conditions were most favorable ended up costing them dearly.
Team boss Bruno Famin conceded the error, calling it a “big mistake.” He explained that the team misjudged the situation, assuming the damp track wouldn’t dry enough to improve lap times. Famin admitted, “We wanted to preserve the set of new tires. And in focusing on that, we just forgot the big picture.”
The team had only a minute to respond to the improving track conditions but failed to act, leading to a crucial mistake. They must reevaluate their strategy process to avoid such errors in the future. Ocon added that the team’s call was firm, not allowing drivers to make their own decisions, which further complicated the situation.
Looking ahead, the team needs to regroup and prepare for the next race at Spa, striving to end on a positive note before the summer break. Ocon believes they need to perfect their strategy execution to match their car’s performance and avoid similar pitfalls.
Reflecting on the situation, Ocon said, “I trusted the team. But probably things need to be different for the future,” emphasizing the need for better strategic decisions under changing track conditions.
Alpine faces a tough road ahead, needing to learn from this mistake and work cohesively to ensure this doesn’t happen again. With Spa on the horizon, the team has a chance to bounce back and demonstrate their true potential.
Source: Motorsport
