Jonathan Cochet is very disappointed with his performances!

Jonathan Cochet, Loic Duval’s replacement for the French team in A1 Grand Prix, said he was very disappointed and embarrassed by his performances in qualifying yesterday.

The 31-year-old Frenchman replaces Duval, who is engaged in other championships for the rest of the season — the last three races. But for his first weekend in A1 GP, Cochet was unable to claim the top of the timesheets.

Despite good free practice sessions beforehand (3rd in FP3), he could only qualify 16th and 14th for the Sprint and Endurance races, respectively.

France is currently in the middle of a championship battle between Switzerland (leader) and New Zealand (third), with all three separated by 10 points. It is therefore the worst time for the French team to experience poor performances.

« I am disappointed, really disappointed », admitted Cochet. « Yesterday morning [during tests], we found a good balance on the car, I was quite fast and I was quite consistent… »

« But in the afternoon (for the qualifiers) I couldn’t make the most of the new tires or the new brakes, which, by the way, took quite some time to change. »

« I admit to being surprised to go so far, especially since we are fighting for the title!

Cochet nevertheless still hopes to score points. He particularly highlights South Africa, which, with Adrian Zaugg starting 14th, managed to make it to the podium last year.

I’m confident in my race pace and knowing that we can overtake more easily here than elsewhere, I hope to achieve a better result. Why not overtake 10 cars by the first turn! Anything is possible!