BWT Alpine F1 Team suffered an unfortunate double retirement for both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in today’s Hungarian Grand Prix after an unavoidable Turn 1 collision on the opening lap to the race.


After a strong start off the line, Pierre looked to make a move on the outside of Turn 1 as he pressed towards the top ten. With a slow start, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou clipped the Alpha Tauri of Daniel Ricciardo under braking who in turn hit Esteban. The Frenchman was shunted, momentarily going airborne, before making contact with Pierre on the outside.

Both cars were severely damaged with Pierre retiring at the end of the first lap and Esteban at the end of the second.

The team looks ahead to next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.


Race

Esteban started on Used Mediums (Retired on Lap 2)
Pierre started on New Softs (Retired on Lap 1)



Esteban Ocon, started P12, DNF : « There is not much to say from today. It’s a very frustrating end to the weekend being involved in a racing incident with a few cars at Turn 1 on the first lap. There was not much we could do and the result was both cars had to retire with significant damage. Fortunately, I’m OK. Right now our focus is on regrouping and coming back stronger as we have another race next weekend in Belgium. We must move on quickly with the aim of heading into the summer break on a good note. »

Pierre Gasly, started P15, DNF : « It’s extremely frustrating for the entire team to have a double retirement, especially in such circumstances so early into the race. I was the unfortunate victim of a crash between a handful of cars and I just had nowhere to go and no chance of avoiding the incident. It’s disappointing after making a good start off the line where I gained a couple of positions. As a team, we have to move on quickly and we have an immediate opportunity in Spa next weekend to make sure we enter the summer break with points. »

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal : « We’re all very disappointed by today’s race with both our cars on the receiving end of an unfortunate, lap one, turn one incident. There was a concertina effect with one car hitting another leading to our two cars coming together in an unavoidable circumstance. Right now, it’s a bitter feeling for all of us, a tough one to take, but we must keep our heads down and bounce back. We have another race next weekend in Spa, the final one before the summer break, where we will work for better fortune and a stronger team result. »