A complicated session that ends well for Esteban Ocon

The least we can say is that the qualifying session was eventful, especially for Esteban Ocon. Like his opponents, the Frenchman had to deal with changing weather conditions in Q1. But he was one of the few to choose the option of switching to slicks at the end of the session: “We decided to make a very late stop in Q1 to switch to slicks. It was a calculated risk and we made the decision in the last corner.”

But the Frenchman’s gamble almost backfired when he was held up on his lap by Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber: « I had only one lap to set my time, and I was blocked by Ericsson. But I still managed to improve my time, even though it was very close. »

The adventures of number 31 did not stop there as he then lost his radio and could not be informed of his lap times during the crucial Q2 session: « In Q2, my brakes were on fire and during my second run, I lost all radio contact with the team. I was just there, driving on my own and had to look at the times on the pit board, old-school style. »

All these setbacks did not prevent him from securing 8th place in Q3, which turns into 7th place on the grid, thanks to Valtteri Bottas’s penalty. However, he once again finishes behind his main rival, his teammate Sergio Perez.

If the Mexican experienced a calmer session, he regretted being only five hundredths away from Nico Hülkenberg’s 6th place: « My last lap could have been better because I lost time running over the curbs in the last corner. So there was room for improvement. »

The two drivers will therefore be one behind the other on the starting grid. They will try to take advantage of this favorable position to consolidate the team’s fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

From our special correspondent in Silverstone