The colorless race of the Alpine
The final standings of Canadian Grand Prix does not reflect what were the objectives set by theAlpine on the eve of the Montreal weekend, with the French team overall authoring a disappointing race. While Pierre Gasly he didn’t even manage to reach the points zone, remaining at 12th after being eliminated in Q1, the consolation came with theeighth place of the compatriot Esteban Oconwho however encountered difficulties in getting the better of a masterful Alexander Albon, able to defend his position with Williams until the checkered flag.
Ferrari moves away
A placement that therefore does not benefit Alpine not only for the result itself, but also for the impact on the constructors’ standings, which now sees the Enstone team losing contact on Ferrari, fourth and at 78 point lead after eight races disputed. The Maranello team, which started on the edge of the top 10 on the starting grid, implemented an excellent strategy with both drivers, who managed to recover all the way to the foot of the podium, with Leclerc and Sainz respectively in fourth and fifth position.
Ocon still in the points, but that’s not enough
However, there are positive aspects derived from the Canadian Grand Prix, such as the Ocon’s fourth consecutive Top-10 finishwho however started from the sixth position of the starting grid: “I think we can be satisfied to have finished another race in the points – commented – but we know that maybe we didn’t make the most of our opportunities in Montréal. Our car and pace were strong, but it wasn’t enough to pass Albon in the Williams, who were quicker on the straights. As a team we will review everything to understand how to improve and how to better seize the opportunities that will present themselves on Sunday. Our pace in qualifying was good and we have to keep it up. I enjoyed the battles with Bottas and Norri,; it was fun! Overall, we have a lot to learn after a busy weekend and I’m looking forward to going to Austria in two weeks’ time.”
The qualification betrays Gasly
Unlike Ocon, Gasly recovered instead implemented a small comeback, but not enough to bring home points, thus interrupting the streak of three consecutive placements in the top ten: “Unfortunately we weren’t able to bring home any points – he added – This once again demonstrates the importance of grid positionand I think our weekend was damaged by what happened in qualifying with the exit in Q1 (in an episode that then led Race Direction to penalize Sainz by three positions for impeding, ed). We had a great pace that we weren’t able to demonstrate in the most important positions. We were a bit unlucky with the timing of the first Safety Car, but even so we made one decent race in terms of pace. I gave it my all in the end, overtaking was difficult and we weren’t able to score points. I am already looking towards Austria, where we will have to be up to par from the start of the weekend and bring home points both in the Sprint and in the main race”.
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