02/11/2024
NEWS STORY
Esteban Ocon: "It was a pity this afternoon that Qualifying was postponed due to the weather conditions. We are all very grateful to the fans who came today and stayed this afternoon.
"It was sunny and hot this morning for the Sprint Race, where we were able to make some overtakes and gain some places. It was not enough for points but it was always going to be a tough ask starting so far back. It seems like we are lacking some pace at the moment, which we will continue to work on and hopefully tomorrow we can see some improvement. It could be a busy day so let's see how it goes."
Pierre Gasly: "It was a very tough Sprint Race earlier today, more so than we expected with the high tyre degradation. In the end, we started seventh, finished seventh, which is our best result of the season and two very important points. Checo [Perez] was closing in at the end and we managed to hang on and be top of the midfield. We need a few more of these races, and end results, in our Championship battle and I'm pleased we're back in the mix. We must give a shoutout to the fans today who waited in the rain for Qualifying. Certainly not nice conditions and now we will refocus ahead of a busy Sunday where we aim to maximise any opportunities."
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal: "Firstly, special mention must go to the Brazilian fans today for their patience in the grandstands. It's a pity Qualifying could not go ahead but the fans should hopefully have a double helping of track action tomorrow. Other than the weather, today was a positive day for the team with Pierre picking up two valuable points in the Sprint. He drove well and scoring points in seventh place is a strong result, which is again testament to the hard work and effort of the whole team in recent weeks. Esteban also made up a few places in the race moving up to thirteenth. There's rain forecast tomorrow, so we need to be prepared to take any opportunities that present themselves."
Check out our Saturday gallery from Sao Paulo here.