Pierre Gasly (FRA / Alpine), 13th in the sprint race:
“It was important for us to have a clean race in the sprint today (Saturday, editor’s note), after a very difficult weekend for the team so far. We were behind this morning with a problem during the sprint shootout (name of the qualifying session which determines the sprint grid), but I’m happy to have done a few laps during the sprint race to gain a handful of positions. We needed to learn and I think we have some ideas of what we can do tomorrow (Sunday, editor’s note) in the main race. We will continue to work hard as a team and see what decisions we make to maximize our chances. I believe we have a fast race car and I am aiming for the top 10 to take points in this tricky weekend”.
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine), 18th in the sprint race:
“It was a difficult day, but we still got some positives out of it. It was essential for us to modify the settings of the car before the sprint race, a collective decision that we knew was necessary to give us a better chance this weekend (for these modifications Ocon had to start from the pit lane , note). The car was much better this afternoon after our changes, and we were able to gather some valuable data, which we have unfortunately missed so far this weekend. I will start the pit lane again tomorrow for the Grand Prix, but if there is a place where anything can happen, it is Baku. We will give everything we have and we will be ready to seize all the opportunities that will arise during the race”.
