After Strong Showings In Practice, Peugeot Falls Flat In Qualifying

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After topping the time charts in two of the three practices before we go racing in the desert for eight hours, Peugeot was primed for a strong qualifying session Friday in Bahrain. Needless to say, that did not happen.

The subtle anticipation was there from fans who are still waiting for the first true breakthrough for the 9x8, and after their strong showing in practice the belief was there that - dare we say - a Hyperpole victory could be in the cards??? Yeah, no. After the 12-minute opening session, Peugeot were left with an utterly crappy result - P15 for the No. 94 and P18 for the No. 93 - and it's a result that leaves those fans, and the team, wondering what happened to the Nearly Wingless Wonder inside the short 12 minutes that actually mattered. 

As it turns out, the No. 93 was moved to the back of the grid following a post-session technical infringement, which stemmed from a power issue that saw the engine cut in and out and resulted in multiple lap times being deleted. As for the No. 94, their FP3 time of 1:50.028 was good for P4, but their qualifying time of 1:48.552 was over a second behind the TGR No. 7 in first (1:47.498).

 

In truth, you really only get a handful of laps to bang out a respectable time on a track the size of Bahrain, and if even the slightest issue arises inside that time it can sink your ability to post a competitive time and that's what clipped the No. 93 at the worst time. What we're left with yet again is a question of what can we expect come race time for the Lions at the start and beyond. To their slight credit, the No. 93 is coming off their best result of the season by way of a P4 finish at Fuji, which up until their FP performances yesterday and today was quite easily the bright spot for the team in 2024. Otherwise, their average finishing position on the year is 13.8 (1 RET) for the No. 94 and 10.4 (1 DSQ) for the No. 93. Make no mistake, holding an average finishing position that sits outside of the points table is not a good thing, especially when there's so much attention and pressure to perform from the powers that be. 

The bottom line is, the 9x8 hasn't done nearly enough to show it belongs in the title fight alongside the likes of Toyota, Porsche and Ferrari the last two seasons. With just the one race to go, is there anything they can salvage just before they turn the page to an immensely-important 2025? I sure hope so.

What can we expect out of Peugeot when the green flag waves Saturday morning? What are YOU expecting? 


(photo via Motorsport.com)

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