Esteban Ocon’s Start in Las Vegas Grand Prix is a Disaster
Esteban Ocon’s start at the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been a total disaster. The French driver was one of the victims of the manhole covers during Free Practice 1. The chassis of his Alpine A 523 needs to be replaced, which puts his participation in FP2 in jeopardy.
The first Free Practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix was particularly chaotic on the evening of November 16th (local time). The practice session was interrupted after just eight minutes due to a problem with the track surface, which caused damage to several cars.
Carlos Sainz was not the only one affected; Esteban Ocon also suffered. The damage to the Alpine #31 of the Normandy driver is significant, as the chassis of his A523 will have to be replaced. That’s a big blow!
Will this compromise the French driver’s participation in Free Practice 2? It’s not entirely certain. Bruno Famin believes that it “is not totally impossible.” “If FP2 is a little longer (…) we have the possibility of being back on track before the end of the session.”
The weekend’s schedule could indeed change. The team’s mechanics, who are promised hours of hard work, would undoubtedly appreciate if FP2 is delayed due to the FIA officials’ inspections on the circuit.
Will this have an impact on Ocon’s performance? It remains to be seen whether this will affect Esteban Ocon’s performance. A chassis change can indeed give the driver different sensations and affect him.
Meanwhile, the new chassis arrived at the Alpine garage around 7 am (French time). The team is working very quickly at the moment to carry out this major surgical operation on his car.
Carlos Sainz will not participate in FP2
It is worth noting that Esteban Ocon is not the only one to have suffered from the manhole covers. Fernando Alonso, Zhou Guanyu, and Carlos Sainz also suffered. The latter had to stop on the track after a violent impact.
This prevented him from participating in Free Practice 2, according to Ferrari’s team principal Frédéric Vasseur. This was due to damage to “the monocoque, the engine, and the battery.” An incident that he finds “unacceptable for F1.”
The French are certainly not lucky with manhole covers in Formula 1. It is worth recalling that in 2017, Romain Grosjean had a major accident in Malaysia due to a dislodged manhole cover.
In summary, Esteban Ocon’s start at the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been a total disaster. The French driver was one of the victims of the manhole covers during Free Practice 1. The chassis of his Alpine A 523 needs to be replaced, which puts his participation in FP2 in jeopardy.