The Singapore GP Qualifying session did not go as planned for Alpine F1 Team, with Colapinto taking P16, and Gasly P18. While Colapinto was able to complete his fast laps, the only interruptions coming from other drivers, Gasly faced an oil protection cut. This ended his session there and then, forcing him to pull over on track.
Colapinto’s Qualifying reflection
Reflecting on his Qualifying, Colapinto noted the difficulty of it. A few notable aspects were small touches on the wall, and major traffic ahead. A few cars ahead of him were on slow laps for the final push, completely ruining his final lap.
The Argentinian expressed the frustration felt due to Qualifying so low, while the car was feeling stronger. He noted that a lot more understanding needs to come in order for the car to remain strong for the main race. Overall, the Singapore GP is a long race. While not a lot of overtaking tends to happen, Colapinto remained confident he can fight and maximise potential.
“Yeah, I touched a little bit, but very tiny. A lot of traffic, I got like four cars in front of me, pushing. Two seconds ahead and I was pushing a lot of downforce. Cars that were not getting the last lap in and pushing ahead and it just killed my last lap completely. Sector 2 was terrible behind them. I think Lawson, Sainz, I don’t know, a couple of cars that left quite late the pit lane and they just made me lose the last lap completely.
“Annoying because the car was feeling in a better window. We need to understand why sometimes we always take a [inaudible] from FP to Quali and try to get better for tomorrow as well. It’s going to be a long race and hopefully we can fight. I know it’s a [inaudible], a lot of vibrations where we are not the best, but we will try our best to maximise what we can.”
Reflecting on Gasly’s Qualifying
With Gasly’s Qualifying session cut short due to car problems, questions remained on the exact cause. Gasly was able to confirm that he had an oil protection cut, meaning he was forced to stop the car.
“I had an oil protection cut, which these guys will explain what it is. I’m not even going to go into details, but I just had to stop the car, so yeah, not good.”
It was clear to see Gasly’s attempt to get out of the way of other drivers. He noted how hard it was to stop where he did, adding that he used all of his strength to get through turn nine. With no throttle, his stopping place was his only possible option.
“Yeah, I mean I couldn’t even turn down, I was putting all my strength just to get around that turn 9. And then I had no throttle, so it was just a little bit.”
This Qualifying result is rather disappointing for Gasly after a stronger morning with FP3. Gasly noted that his first run was messy with two large snaps. He claimed “It’s just a shame”, and further expressed his frustration of being unable to give himself a proper shot.
“It’s been a good Friday, this morning was a full session. My first run was just very messy, I had trouble the first lap, second lap. Two big snaps, so that last lap was coming pretty well. It’s just a shame, but we’re just struggling. It’s more frustrating when we can’t even give ourselves a proper chance.”
Higher hopes for Singapore
Colapinto held far higher hopes for Singapore after stronger weekends recently. He has begun to feel more competitive, which while that brings joy, it also brings frustration from this weekend’s Qualifying. The Argentinian adds how frustrating it is not be able to reach Q2.
Himself and the team are continuously working hard to get the most out of the car, but it is difficult when the package isn’t always working. Colapinto acknowledged that despite pushing hard, he is always “hitting the back foot”. Reaching Q2 only seems to happen when every aspect aligns perfectly, so when it doesn’t happen, it is incredibly frustrating.
“Yes, generally just the last few weekends I felt better with the car. My personal side, I’ve been more competitive, which of course I was looking for since a long time. On that side I’m happy, but of course when you are so far and you can’t get in Q2 even, it’s frustrating. We need to work hard, we are working really hard with the team and trying to get more out of the car. But it’s always difficult, you know, when the package is sometimes not there.
“We are always hitting the back foot and we are pushing hard, but sometimes it’s not enough. And most of the time everything needs to be perfect for us to just get in Q2 and when it doesn’t happen, it’s frustrating, it’s not happening.”
