17/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Esteban Ocon: The weekend in Azerbaijan was a tough one for the team.
The issues we had in two of the three Free Practice sessions limited the preparation we were able to do ahead of Qualifying. Ultimately this then had a knock-on effect to the race which proved to be a tricky feat. With the back-to-back, the turnaround will be quick but we have debriefed after the weekend and shifted our focus ahead to Singapore. We are in this together as a team and we will regroup this coming weekend with the goal to maximise the available track time to fight in the points on Sunday.
Under the lights Singapore is always an incredible challenge for all of the drivers. The heat adds an extra element to prepare for and that makes it a very physically demanding weekend, especially race day. It is a night race which I am excited for. The last night race we had was Saudi Arabia at the start of the season, so I am looking forward to racing under the lights in Singapore. It is also my birthday week, which is always nice to be able to share with the team. Hopefully we are able to maximise on any opportunities presented to us and bring back a good result to celebrate.
Esteban started eighth on the grid in the 2023 Singapore GP, his best-ever qualifying performance in five visits to the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Pierre Gasly: The race weekend in Baku was a hard one for us. We took a gamble by running long on the opening stint, hoping for some action, which came a bit too late to make any difference to the end result for us. I was on the limit for the entire race and from that side, I think we did a good job. Overall, there are many things for us to reflect on. We had difficulties across all three days, and we must improve for next time. We lost some ground to our rivals in the Constructors' Championship - we need to work extremely hard in these next few races to fight for points and recover that position.
We are right back at it at another extreme track in Singapore this weekend and I really love the race there. The Marina Bay Circuit is always one of the hardest challenges of the season. The hot conditions make the long lap very physically demanding on the body and, as drivers, we need to train and adapt for the heat and during the weekend make sure our core body temperature stays normal. Driving under the lights in such an iconic city is so cool, though. The street track will hopefully present opportunities that we can capitalise on as we aim for points on Sunday. As a team, we are targeting a better weekend than Baku and hopefully return to a Zandvoort level of performance.
Pierre has finished in the points at the last three consecutive races in Singapore, including a sixth place finish last season, Alpine's best result in Singapore since 2017.