Alpine has been the only team that has updated its car in each and every one of the events so far in the 2022 Formula 1 season, after introducing a floor that was a great step forward for them in Singapore, those from Enstone prepared a new version for Austin.
Upon landing at the Circuit of the Americas, the news was released that it would be Esteban Ocon who would have said update, while Fernando Alonso would maintain the older specification.
However, from the beginning of the weekend, the Spaniard was faster than his teammate and this was reflected even more in the classification. Esteban Ocon was unable to get past the first round of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, while Alonso made it to Q3 and despite not completing a good lap, finished ninth.
After the French driver’s problems, the Enstone team made the decision on Sunday morning to change some elements of the power unit of his A522 and that carries a penalty that will force him to start from the pitlane.
However, it will not be a great loss for Ocon, as without this last-minute change he would have started from 17th position on the grid, just ahead of Mick Schumacher, Guanyu Zhou and Nicholas Latifi, the three drivers who gain a place .
On the other hand, Yuki Tsunoda joins Charles Leclerc, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Guanyu Zhou, the Japanese AlphaTauri driver will start from race nineteenth on the grid after changing the gearbox of his car. Originally, he had ranked 15th.
With all the penalties applied, Sergio Pérez will start ninth, while Leclerc and Alonso will do so 12th and 14th respectively. Tsunoda’s penalty means Zhou moves up to 17th position, with his penalty also applied, and Latifi to 18th.
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