F1 News
'We haven't seen that often in qualifying'
- GPblog.com
Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix had several crashes again this weekend. Where Lance Stroll and Antonio Giovinazzi hit the wall in turn 15, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda did the same in turn 3. Esteban Ocon thinks the many accidents of this season are a logical consequence.
The Frenchman had to drop out early last weekend and saw his teammate Fernando Alonso finish sixth. Ocon saw several accidents occur especially during qualifying, while two blowouts during the race also caused a sensation. However, the Alpine driver sees a connection.
"The cars have evolved enormously: all the time gains you can make are all from braking as late as possible," Ocon explains to Motorsport.com explained. "Everyone is looking for the limits at that point, but there was also a bit more wind in qualifying. A lot of drivers went over the limit and we haven't seen that often in qualifying. It was very surprising that so many things happened in qualifying."
Incidents unavoidable
Ocon thinks the incidents are unavoidable for now. "It's just a feature of how the cars are. I didn't drive in 2019, but I did in 2018 and my feeling comes from that. I mean, the fastest way is to drive at the limit of the brakes and just make it to the corner."