Grosjean and Ocon will aim for the top 10 in Shanghai, what about Gasly?
Tenth and in Q3, Romain Grosjean is the best French qualifier for the Chinese Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon is also in the running for the battle for points in tomorrow's race. Pierre Gasly will first need to solve his grip issues.
Romain Grosjean (Haas): 10th
The Genevan betrayed himself after claiming yesterday that it’s “better to finish eleventh than to go into Q3.” Joking aside, Romain Grosjean did the job in qualifying under difficult circumstances, hindered by brake problems in FP3. Yet here he is, making it to Q3 for the second time this season, after his impressive sixth place achieved in Melbourne.
« The team did an extraordinary job to get the car back on track! » emphasized the driver in the interview area. « A lot of work was done on the car. The engineers changed the setup, which gave me better sensations. »
Another paradox of the session, his time in Q3 (1:32.855) was ultimately faster than in Q2 (1:33.238). The explanation is obvious:
« I am really satisfied to reach Q3, even if our position is not ideal. On the last lap, I didn’t have as much grip as I did on the previous laps. »
From now on, Romain Grosjean turns towards the race, not necessarily in a comfortable position. He will attempt to score his first points of the season. « Tomorrow, the first stint will be key. We will start on ultrasofts, unlike the drivers behind me. But we have the means to do a good job! »
Esteban Ocon (Force India): 12th
Another Tricolore involved in the midfield battle, the native of Evreux fell on the wrong side in terms of performance this time. The disappointment is evident especially since Sergio Pérez made it to Q3.
“I am not completely satisfied,” indicated the person concerned. “I would obviously have preferred to start higher on the grid. The difference between 10th and 11th place was made by a tenth, which I probably lost in the last corner with a small mistake. This clearly shows how tight it is in the middle of the pack.”
Esteban Ocon remains in the running to aim for points tomorrow in Shanghai, in order to truly kickstart his team’s season, a week after securing his first point (10th in Bahrain). Unlike Grosjean, he will be able to choose his tires for the start.
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso): 17th
Other times, other customs for the star of Bahrain. The Rouennais loses twelve places on the grid between the two meetings. Pierre Gasly was unable to escape Q1 this time. The fault lies with a poor adjustment change made after free practice.
« I struggled to find the right rhythm. Yesterday had been quite positive but we changed the car in the meantime. This completely affected the car’s balance: I really lacked rear grip! And we didn’t have enough time to change the setup between FP3 and Qualifying. »
The 2016 GP2 champion even admits that he could have gone off the track several times, given the circuit. The objectives are clearly less ambitious on this side of the garages. Nevertheless, Pierre Gasly remains hopeful:
« We knew reaching the top 10 would be difficult. But we’re quite okay in terms of tire degradation on long stints, which is positive. We now need to understand why the changes didn’t work. We’ll try everything to climb back up tomorrow! »
After P5 in Bahrain, it’s back down to earth for Pierre Gasly. He’ll start the #ChineseGP in 17th pic.twitter.com/eQpzMJtwHP
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 14, 2018
