26/10/2024
NEWS STORY
Esteban Ocon: "Today has been a tough day.
"We struggled in both Free Practice 3 and Qualifying, which is frustrating after a more positive day yesterday. There was clearly something that did not work out for us in Qualifying so we need to debrief with the team to understand what happened and what we can do better for next time. We will start on the back row tomorrow so the aim will of course be to make our way forwards. It won't be easy, but we will do our best to have a decent race."
Pierre Gasly: "It was an amazing Qualifying session for us and I'm very happy to be in Q3 for the second race in a row. We made a lot of changes between Free Practice 3 and Qualifying, as we were last on the timesheets, struggling with the car and just generally lacking grip. The team did a great job, so credit to everyone for persevering and finding those improvements. It is clear that this car, with our recent upgrades, has potential and it seems that we are operating within a small window, which we must continue to understand. We were just 0.006secs from another position today but, still, I'm pleased with our turnaround and how we were able to put together some strong laps. We've put ourselves in a good position on the grid for tomorrow. Last week, we had a strong Saturday but struggled on Sunday, and hopefully we have learnt from that and can be in the fight for points."
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal: "Today was a busy day, trying to find the right balance and getting the tyres in the right window over a single lap. We struggled in Free Practice 3 this morning and the team worked hard between sessions, delivering a competitive Qualifying. Pierre did a great job to make it into Q3 for the second race in a row and is in a good starting position for tomorrow's race. We need to understand why Esteban was not as comfortable in his car and have him make some progress in the Grand Prix."