Esteban started from P12 on New Mediums, finished P14: Pit Stop on Lap 25 for New Hards. Fastest Lap: 1min 21.304secs.

 

 

Pierre started from P15 on New Softs, finished P16: Pit Stops on Lap 8 for New Hards, Lap 30 for New Mediums. Fastest Lap: 1mins 21.371secs.

 

 

Esteban Ocon: “It was a difficult race today and, in the end, a tricky weekend overall. Ultimately, we lacked the pace to compete, and we did not have the speed to attack or defend, which limited our options in the race. We managed to hold position at the start but struggled to keep Lance [Stroll] behind in the beginning of the opening stint. Once he passed us, he pulled away and we could not maintain ground to the others. We tried to extend our first stint to benefit from any teams making a late pit-stop, but that did not happen. We were not in the fight this weekend, but we keep going and we go again next week in Monaco. I have great memories from last year, so we go there with a positive frame of mind.”

 

 

Pierre Gasly: “Unfortunately, we did not get it quite right today. We were not quick enough to compete higher up the grid and our intended strategy was too far away to pay off given how the race unfolded. In general, though, it felt like the car was less competitive than yesterday so we need to review as a team what we could have done better. Apart from that, the car felt more consistent at this track throughout the weekend so we need to make sure that we get the factors that we can control right. I’m looking forward to Monaco now, we have lots to analyse in the next couple of days to make sure we come prepared to the streets of Monte Carlo.”

 

 

Bruno Famin, Team Principal: “It was a difficult race for the team in Imola today. We lacked pace and the alternative strategy we attempted with Pierre did not work as there were no incidents on track. The leaders of the race were very fast today and we were caught early on with blue flags, which cost us additional time. We need to focus on our own performance and analyse the data to understand our race pace deficit. We can only control the areas we have in our hands. Next week we return to the legendary Monaco. It’s a race with fond memories for the team from last year and we look forward to racing there again with a resilient and motivated attitude aiming for a good result.”