Unhappy Ocon admits Q1 knockout 'not acceptable'

Esteban Ocon suffered a premature exit from qualifying in Styria, having been knocked out as early as Q1, a washout the Alpine driver admitted was clearly "not acceptable".

Ocon ended Q1 a lowly P17 in the pecking order, just behind Williams' Nicholas Latifi. The underperformance was obviously painful for the Frenchman who is seeking a top ten finish in Austria to after a disappointing run in his home race last week at Paul Ricard.

"Not acceptable obviously to be out of Q1," commented a discontented Ocon. "We're clearly not happy with where we stand.

"We were lacking pace since this morning, clearly, and we didn't manage to find it in qualifying.

"We need to regroup, keep analysing and see what’s going on to improve our performance as it was not enough today."

Asked if he had an idea of the root cause for his Alpine's lack of pace, Ocon did not single out a specific weakness, simply admitting to not feeling "happy with the car".

"I don't feel like the performance is there. When I finish a lap, I feel like we gave it the maximum and then the lap time is just not coming. We need to understand."

• Read also: Ricciardo baffled by Q2 exit and sudden lack of pace

On the other side of the Alpine garage, Fernando Alonso secured a spot among the top ten despite enduring a "stressful" session. The Spaniard qualified P9 but will start Sunday's race P8, gaining a position thanks to Yuki Tsunoda's grid drop.

"It was a stressful qualifying with no room for mistakes, thanks to the close gaps and track limits at the last two corners," he said.

"There is always room to improve but I am very happy with getting into the top ten again and finishing ninth.

"It gives us the possibility to score some good points tomorrow. Our forecast suggests it might rain so it is a little bit unknown heading into the race, but we are ready for whatever conditions."

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