Alpine’s Esteban Ocon will miss qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix following a crash in final practice on Saturday afternoon.
The Frenchman spun into the barriers at Turn 14 in an incident identical to that of Carlos Sainz during Friday’s second practice session.
Although the impact looked fairly moderate, Alpine discovered a crack in Ocon’s chassis which the team are unable to repair. He will therefore be forced to use a new chassis, which the team are unable to build up in time for qualifying.
“That was a big one but I am OK,” said Ocon. “A cracked chassis means I won’t be able to take part in qualifying today. Absolutely gutted but full send for tomorrow.”
Alpine confirmed Ocon is “physically fine” and will take part in Sunday’s grand prix.
“We can confirm that sadly Esteban won’t be taking part in qualifying this afternoon,” his team confirmed on social media. “His chassis was cracked in the impact with the barrier and cannot be changed in time. Esteban is physically fine and will race tomorrow.”
It will mean Ocon will be forced to start from the pit lane for Sunday’s race, which starts at 15:30pm local time.
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