Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou triggered anti-stall when he attempted to launch from fifth on the grid after a strong qualifying performance. As he tried to recover, he collided with the returning Daniel Ricciardo under braking into Turn 1. This collision caused the AlphaTauri of Esteban Ocon to be launched into the air, landing on the sidepod of his teammate Pierre Gasly.
Gasly returned to the pits at the end of the opening lap with a right-rear tire failure, rear wing damage, and a hole in the engine cover. Ocon was also forced to retire at the end of the following lap due to his seat breaking as a result of the impact.
Ocon explained, “We just suffered a strike into Turn 1. It’s just a mistake from Zhou in the back. That led us to a massive hit. My seat broke in pieces, in two parts. So that tells how much the impact was. Unfortunately, both cars were out after that. Those are the consequences from racing at the back. People tend to take more risks. We knew it and we suffered from it today.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523, heads to the pits with a puncture
Photo by: Michael Potts / Motorsport Images
“We’re going to be racing next week and that’s the good thing because we can forget quickly this weekend,” said Ocon.
Zhou received a five-second penalty and had two penalty points added to his license for causing the collision. The stewards determined that tagging Ricciardo had caused a chain reaction upfront, and stated that although leeway is usually given to drivers involved in lap-one incidents, this particular incident did not qualify for that leeway.
Gasly, who started 15th, acknowledged that the team lacked pace throughout the weekend. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer likened the collision to
