16/07/2021
NEWS STORY
Alpine F1 Team will line up for tomorrow's first-ever Sprint Qualifying at the British Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso eleventh and Esteban Ocon thirteenth on the grid.
After a one-hour practice session this morning, both drivers were thrown into the three-part Qualifying session around the legendary Silverstone track to determine the grid for tomorrow's 17-lap Sprint Qualifying.
Fernando missed out on a spot in Q3 by just 0.025secs with Esteban under one tenth adrift of the Spaniard's time after a tight session in front of a raucous, sell-out British crowd.
Fernando was quick out of the garage in Q1 to have a first feel for Soft tyres on low fuel. He settled into the session with his second run good enough for fourth on a 1min 27.580secs. Esteban too felt happy with his A521 early in the session and he was comfortably through Q1 on his second run with a 1min 27.415secs.
For Q2, Esteban slotted into tenth on his first run with Fernando behind after meeting traffic on his lap. A scrappy out lap on their second runs with all 15 cars jostling for track position hindered both drivers' chances of making any progress. Fernando improved his lap-time to take eleventh with Esteban unable to better his first effort, finishing in thirteenth place.
Both drivers have an opportunity to progress further on the starting grid for Sunday's 52-lap race when Formula 1's first ever Sprint Qualifying takes place tomorrow at 16:30 local time.
Esteban Ocon: "Overall, I'm pleased with today even if the result is slightly disappointing. I'm happy to see that we're back on the pace and getting the maximum out of the car. Thanks to everyone at Enstone, Viry and at the track for all their hard work over the last week. Qualifying was going well until the last run, when we had a messy out lap. That was a shame as we were quick enough for Q3 today. It's all to play for tomorrow in Sprint Qualifying."
Fernando Alonso: "It was tricky today, but I think we had a little bit more pace in the car to get into Q3. The traffic was quite difficult to manage and the out laps in Q2 were a bit messy. It was unfortunate to be out before Q3, but it's a new format this weekend. We have another opportunity tomorrow to gain places on the grid until we race on Sunday. Let's see what we can learn and improve ready for tomorrow. The atmosphere was amazing today and it really felt like we were racing so I hope the fans enjoyed it."
Davide Brivio, Racing Director: "It's been a good qualifying; even if we didn't go through to Q3. In reality, we were very close to it. We had the potential to be there, but a little bit of traffic was just enough to knock us out. So, we start eleventh and thirteenth on the grid, but we have another chance tomorrow with the Sprint Qualifying to improve our position for the main race. We need to go in with a positive approach, use it as an opportunity and try to use it to our advantage to gain some places."
Check out our Friday gallery from Silverstone, here.