Alpine reaches Q3 for the first time this season in Monaco

There is an improvement. During this qualifying session in Monaco, both Alpine cars thrilled the French fans. While Pierre Gasly quickly found his pace, Esteban Ocon struggled more. The number 31 driver was close to being eliminated in Q1. Sergio Perez’s underperformance allowed him to breathe and make it to Q2.

In this second phase, the two blue cars were very fast. They were in the top 10 for a long time before dropping down the standings a bit. On a final attempt, Pierre Gasly managed to achieve the fifth provisional time before dropping slightly. But he remained in the top ten. On his side, Esteban Ocon did not manage to improve his time and has to settle for eleventh place.

« I have mixed feelings. There are positive aspects, as we have made good improvements to the car to really be in contention for the top 10 in qualifying. We comfortably made it through Q1, but I made a mistake on my Q2 lap by locking up in turn 1, which probably cost us a place in Q3. We had the pace and I pushed to the limits to optimize everything we had at our disposal, but sometimes mistakes happen. We start close to the points and there are always opportunities to seize in Monaco, said Esteban Ocon.

Qualified in Q3 for the first time this season, Pierre Gasly missed his final attempt and has to settle for tenth place, when there was definitely more to hope for. “I took a lot of risks and hit the wall one time too many, but these are the risks you have to take in Monaco qualifying. In the end, I am satisfied with the result, even if it was possible to do better,” confirms the Frenchman.

The tricolor team will have a good chance of scoring points. With one element in the top 10 and another on the brink of scoring points, Alpine could take a step forward at the end of the race.