Esteban Ocon was able to secure his first point in Formula 1 after coming out on top of an almost race-long battle with Fernando Alonso at Albert Park on Sunday.
The Sahara Force India F1 Team driver trailed the Spaniard’s McLaren Honda F1 Team MCL32 for much of the afternoon but finally got a run on Alonso on the run down to turn one to move into the points, while also keeping Nico Hülkenberg at bay at the same time.
Ocon feels he has learned a lot during his first race weekend with Force India following his move across from the now defunct Manor Racing MRT, and hopes to build on his first top ten result in Formula 1 going forward.
“Scoring my first point in Melbourne is a very nice reward after what has been quite a tough weekend,” said Ocon. “I spent almost the entire race fighting against Fernando because we were side-by-side for the first lap of the race.
“He was able to stay ahead and I had to chase him for the rest of the afternoon. It was a hard fight because Fernando is a tough opponent and it was so difficult to get close and overtake. Eventually I found a gap in the last few laps and took my chance going into turn one.
“It was a big moment for my race and took me into the points. I’m happy with the result and I feel I’ve learned a huge amount from my first race weekend with this team. I hope this is the first point of many this season.”
