The Alpine team’s F1 ambitions went up in smoke – literally! Their Friday practice session started with Pierre Gasly‘s engine going up in flames and pouring out a cloud of thick black smoke, eventually forcing the French driver to retire. Cut to Qualifying, Gasly crashed again after all the effort put into repairing the car in the morning. 

After Friday’s misfortune, the team aimed for a stronger outing on Saturday. But the horrible weekend continued as Pierre suffered a suspected exhaust leak in the SQ1. On the other hand, Esteban Ocon missed the top-10 qualifying shootout due to suspension issues. So the team decided to make changes to Ocon’s A523, taking the car out of parc ferme conditions. As a result, Ocon started the Sprint Race from the Pit Lane and will start Sunday’s 51-lap race in identical circumstances. 

The Alpine team finished the Sprint Race with Pierre Gasly in the thirteenth and Esteban Ocon in the eighteenth position. Disappointed Ocon who finished the race clearly behind, said after the race, as quoted by Motorsport.com, “It has been a tough weekend for sure. I always try to think positively, but right now I can think very little positively. The only positive thing we can take away from today is that we had to change the setting, which was critical.”

Speaking about the team’s disappointing weekend so far, Ocon said [optimistically]: “It was nice to have clear data this morning that we could compare with Pierre’s tool. So we can come back stronger and fitter tomorrow. Yes, I mean… We win together and lose together. As a team, we are all in the same boat and we will not lose our motivation. We’re all in this together. There’s not a single person to blame. We’re going to keep pushing until we get where we need to be.”

Read more: After Pierre Gasly’s Steam Engine Simulation, Esteban Ocon Doubles Down on Alpine’s F1 Horrors in Baku: “Not the Best Day”

Along with Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg will start the race from the pit lane. While Pierre Gasly and Nyck de Vries are at the back of the grid after crashing, Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will start from the front row. In the fight between Red Bull and Ferrari, who will emerge victorious?

Charles Leclerc: “The Red Bulls still have the upper hand”

After a frustrating start to the 2023 Formula 1 season, the Monegasque finally got the results he hoped for. He took Ferrari’s first pole of the season and landed ahead of the mighty Red Bulls. So he will once again start from pole position, just like in the sprint race. However, this time around he will be defending reigning 2x champion Max Verstappen, who will start at P2 alongside his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. 

Despite being the grid leader for Sunday’s main race, Leclerc feels it’d be difficult to win the race against the Red Bulls. After the Sprint race, he told Sky Sports: “The Red Bulls still have the upper hand in the race. We, again, must not forget how far we were behind in race pace two races ago. We did a step forward. We are still not where we want to be, but if winning is not possible, then we just need to take the maximum points.”

He further added: “We will try to go for the win, even though Red Bull seems a bit quicker. We just have a car that is too aggressive on tires, so I don’t feel like there’s much improvement for Sunday. But I will do everything again and see what’s possible.”

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who was elated after winning the sprint, said: “I’m confident that I will be fighting for the win, but let’s see, it’s Baku so anything can happen. I just want to make sure I deliver when it matters.”

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Who among the top-three starters will win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments section.