Only one Norman in the points at the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, played this Sunday. Pierre Gaslachieved a clear round in this eventful race, contested on a tricky track. A Safety Car at the wrong time caused him to lose three positions but the Normand had the merit of getting 10th place. The Alpine team experienced the rare humiliation of seeing its two cars stop at the edge of the track with a broken engine. Withdrawals for Fernando Alonso as for Esteban Ocon with important consequences for the constructors’ championship, since McLaren regained fourth place in this classification.
Pierre Gasly pugnacious but a bit unlucky
Qualified in seventh position, Pierre Gasly made a good start which allowed him to pass Alonso (Alpine). But he fails to contain the response of the Spaniard a few turns later. The Norman therefore completes the first lap in seventh place. Then he was quickly threatened by the duo Vettel (Aston Martin) – Verstappen (Red Bull). He did not resist the Dutch world champion for long and therefore fell to eighth place on the 11th of the 61 laps.
Pierre Gasly will unfortunately lose three places when switching to slick tires when the track finally dried on the race line. A misfortune largely caused by his teammate Tsunoda, at the origin of a neutralization of the race after a completely failed braking and an exit from the track. Gasly had just pitted, unlike Vettel, Stroll and Ricciardo who took advantage of the windfall to pass the Norman.
The end of the race is stressful for Gasly, at the wheel of an AlphaTauri which had shown its limits on a dry track during free practice 1 and 2. The Norman is for a time under threat from Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Magnussen (Haas) , but he gradually manages to secure a margin of safety in the last minutes of the race. Pierre Gasly, ranked 10thearns a point in the world championship.
“I am extremely disappointed. I don’t understand why we took the risk of putting on slicks so early. We were overtaken by several cars… For the moment, I don’t understand. – Pierre GASLY, at the microphone of Canal +
He still won a third top 10 in the last four Grands Prixa meritorious momentum in view of the modest performance of the AlphaTauri du Normand.
Ocon’s hopes go up in smoke
Sent back to the back of the grid after a qualifying marked by a brake problem, Esteban Ocon manages to gain two places in the first lap despite the water mist generated by the cars in front of him. He is in fifteenth place ahead of Schumacher. But overtaking is highly risky on the track covered in water and the Ebroïcien driver chooses caution.
Unfortunately, his Grand Prix will suddenly come to an end shortly before the halfway point, when he was approaching the top 10, his engine broken in a spectacular plume of smoke.
Black weekend for Alpine who suffered a double abandonment in this Grand Prix. Alonso’s engine also gave up the ghost as the Spaniard was in sixth place. Modern F1s are reputed to be reliable and the French team had not experienced such a humiliating scenario since the start of the season. This Singapore nightmare could prove costly in the battle against McLaren for fourth place in the constructors’ championship. The English team placed its two cars in 4th and 5th place, with a harvest of 22 points. McLaren therefore returns to Alpine in the standings with a four-point lead.