Issue-hit Alpine seeking smoother time on Saturday

Friday's practice running for the Canadian Grand Prix was hit by a number of problems, and while some of them affected everyone - the early CCTV glitch and then the late rain - two of the day's red flags were down to Alpine.

Gasly triggered an early stoppage just four minutes into Free Practice 1 with a minor electrical issue on the steering wheel on his A523 which saw him come to a halt by the side of the track.

"We managed to have a productive day," Gasly insisted. "It didn't start so well with an issue with the spare steering wheel on my first run in FP1. Fortunately, we did not miss out on any running due to the red flag for the circuit systems."

• Read also: Hamilton and Russell top extended Canada FP2 before rain

“It was a very bizarre day from the start,” he reflected. “It stopped after three corners, so not ideal that I had a nice walk through the park to get my way back to the paddock. It was very strange!

"Then we got the car back before the end of FP1, so I thought maybe we would manage to get out, but we could not get on track."

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer explained that the problem had been on Gasly's spare steering wheel and that a simple swap back to the primary one had rectified the situation.

"We had a problem on Pierre’s car due to an electrical fault on the spare steering wheel which caused him to stop on track. This was replaced to his normal wheel for the second session with no issues."

Ocon added: "FP2 was much better and we were able to progress our programme for almost the full one and a half hour session before the rain at the end."

In the afternoon, it was Gasly's team mate Esteban Ocon turn to trigger a red flag when the team detected a problem on his car and ordered him to stop. Ocon said it was "due to a suspected loss of water pressure in the car".

"Obviously it’s been a far from straightforward day for us so we’ll have to get on top of the issues so we can ensure tomorrow - when it counts - is better," he commented.

“We are very much starting on the backfoot. It’s going to be a big push, trying to get up to speed quicker than the others, and hopefully we can do so.

"Unfortunately Esteban’s session stopped early in Free Practice 2 as a result of losing water pressure on his car," added Szafnauer. "We will take the time to investigate the cause of this issue."

The team is optimistic that there will be no recurrence of either issue over the rest of the weekend. Gasly finished Friday in P10 while Ocon's early exit from the session left him down in P18 by the time rain stopped play.

"I had an interesting moment at turn 4 with the rear sliding but managed to keep it away from the wall," said Gasly. "I think we’re in a good place ahead of the rest of the weekend."

For Ocon, the major disappointment was that he wasn't out on track when the rain came down meaning he had didn't have a chance to try a set of the intermediate tyres.

“We start with a bullet in the foot because we are not going to have that inter tyre - that extra one, that others could carry after today. I’m going to have very limited running, probably in FP3, compared to the others.

"It’s going to be a big push, trying to get up to speed quicker than the others, and hopefully we can do so.," he said. “We’re ready to take a challenge and see what we can get after tomorrow.”

"Our running today was limited," agreed Szafnauer. "We must target a much smoother Free Practice 3 tomorrow to put ourselves in the best possible position ahead of Qualifying.

"The weather looks mixed with a high chance of rain throughout the day, so we’ll remain ready for all possibilities.”

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