We had to go back to qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, at the beginning of September, to find the trace of a double top 10 of the Normans in the exercise of the launched lap. The scenario was repeated this Saturday on the Losail circuit (Qatar) used for the first time by Formula 1. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), ranked fourth, was only beaten by Mercedes and Red Bull. The Normand made a small mistake in his last passage on the track…. who prevented Esteban Ocon (Alpine) to improve his lap times. The Ebroic pilot is classified ninth but far from his teammate Fernando Alonso. Nice group shot from the Blues who had only managed four times (Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands and Russia) a double entry in Q3 since the start of the season.
Q1: A lot of ease for Pierre Gasly who offers himself the luxury of fitting medium tires in this first phase of qualifying. The Norman passes without difficulty (eighth time) by saving his trains of soft rubber. The Normand thus confirms his great ease since the start of free practice (2 in FP1, 2nd in FP 2 then 4th in FP3). More complicated session for Esteban Ocon, who complained in his first run of vibrations during braking. Despite everything, the Alpine rider posted an encouraging 10th fastest time.
Q2: Change of strategy for Gasly who uses soft gums from the start of this Q2. He confirms his speed seen in free practice with the second fastest time! In the wake of the AlphaTauri, the Alpine also posted a very high pace with the 3rd (Alonso) and 6th (Ocon) times of this second qualifying streak which left a lot of people behind (Perez, Leclerc, Ricciardo) .
Q3: Pierre Gasly is positioned as the “best of the others” behind the untouchables Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas. He sets the fourth fastest time, as in Brazil last week. The Normand involuntarily interrupted the session with a puncture caused by a too aggressive passage on the vibrators. The yellow flag cut Esteban Ocon’s wings, preventing him from validating a second lap after a disappointing first pass (ninth but well behind 7 / 10th for his teammate Alonso). The Ebroïc pilot is preceded by Tsunoda, Gasly’s teammate, which should give a good battle this Sunday in the race knowing that Alpine and AlphaTauri are fighting for fifth place in the constructor championship.