Photo credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team
A disastrous weekend for the Alpine team at the British Grand Prix saw them leave with no points and two DNF’s. Esteban Ocon retired early on lap 10 due to a hydraulic issue but potentially spared the Enstone based team a large damage bill by retiring when he did.
“It was a frustrating race. We had a hydraulic leak, so we had to box the car otherwise we are going to catch fire. Had a decent start, but that was it from there, unfortunately,” said Ocon.
Ocon added there “is always some positives” to take away from a weekend like that.
“There’s always things that we can carry forward. Hopefully we come back stronger in the next two before the break, and there is some great stuff coming on the car so big hopes for us,” concluded Ocon.
Speaking after the race Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer spoke about this hydraulic issue and his frustration, as it’s a part purchased from a supplier. This is the second time a supplier problem has led to a retirement for an Alpine car.
“Esteban had a hydraulic leak from a proprietary pump that we buy from our supplier and it’s just unfortunate.
“It’s a part we buy. It’s a part that’s usually pretty robust and rarely fails. It leaked — it leaked from an area of the pump where I think we adjust pressure on it.”
Given the fact that Alpine’s rival McLaren scored a huge haul of points with Lando Norris’s podium finish in P2 and rookie teammate Oscar Piastri’s P4, the zero points tally resulted in Alpine slipping behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship by 12 points.
Szafnauer explained how costly the Safety Car was for the team with Pierre Gasly running in P8. He stopped before the Safety Car came out and lost 3 positions because of it.
“Non-scores are very painful, especially when you have the pace to score. We were behind Fernando in the first stint before the safety car came out and where did he finish? 7th. So we should have been 8th.”
