Endless crisis
As had happened in Bahrain, also in Saudi Arabia Alpine experienced a race full of great difficulties. Compared to the 17th place achieved by Sakhir, Esteban Ocon managed to climb a few steps, crossing the finish line in 13th place, while things went much worse for Pierre Gasly. The former Red Bull driver was forced to stop after just one round of the race becoming the first to withdraw from the 2024 season and the only one so far to have had to withdraw due to technical problems. The exchange of radio communications between the transalpine and his team's garage also testifies to the great moment of discouragement that Gasly is experiencing.
Gasly's displeasure
In fact, while he was returning to the pit lane the #10 almost did begged his team to put him back on track once the problem was resolved, even just to be able to complete a few laps and collect data that may be useful to help the difficult A524 project grow. From the wall, however, came the bitter confirmation that this was not possible due to the severity of damage found in the gearbox area. Before the race – again in radio communications – Gasly had also tried to appear optimistic and confident, underlining how twists and turns can always happen on a circuit like Jeddah and inviting the team to be ready. Unfortunately, however, it was his turn to abandon the race immediately.
The teams radio at the start of the race
Pre-race
Gasley: “We're on track guys. You never know what can happen, so let's take our chances.”
Alpine: “It could be a crazy race.”
Tour 1
Alpine: “We'll stop on this tour Pierre. Box this round. We must avoid using sixth gear. Unfortunately we have to withdraw.”
Gasley: “Is there a chance we can fix the problem and do some laps later?”:
Alpine: “Gabe is looking at the data, but it doesn't seem possible. The car doesn't seem to be running great. We lost a lot at the back.”
#Alpine #Gasly #pleads #radio #laps
