Esteban Ocon recovered well from a disappointing Qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix, to finish seventh-place at a scorching hot Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Team-mate Fernando Alonso drove an incredible race to make up eleven places.
Ocon proved that Alpine do have a good race car, the Frenchman made an excellent start to the race and made up a number of places early on. The A522 appeared an almost completely different car on Sunday, following the team’s disappointment on Saturday.
Ocon finished seventh on a three-stop strategy, which was used by the majority of the drivers on what was an exceptionally hot day.
Ocon was very pleased with the result, in what he described as “the best” the team could’ve targeted.
“I’m very happy for the team today with a good double result. It’s probably the best result we could have hoped for after yesterday and the team should be very proud for what we achieved today. It was a great first stint with some good overtakes and, overall, I don’t think there is anything we could have done better.
“It was awesome to see Fernando in the points as well after starting from the back, and to do it here in Barcelona is even better. After a difficult Saturday we proved that the pace is there, and the car is working well so this result definitely feels good. I’ll sleep well tonight!”
“It feels a bit like a victory” – Fernando Alonso
Alonso drove unbelievably well at his home Grand Prix, following a disastrous qualifying. Alonso was knocked out in Qualifying 1, after having his time worthy of a spot in the next session deleted for exceeding track limits.
As a result, the team opted to make some changes to the Spaniard’s car, dropping him to last place. However, Alonso made up strong ground throughout the race, eventually crossing the line in an impressive ninth-place.
The Spanish driver described the result as “a bit like a victory”, and is hopeful he can score more points in the following rounds.
“It’s great to finish in the points today especially after our bad qualifying yesterday, so I’m very happy with that. The atmosphere was special today and even though we were starting last I feel like we managed to put a show on for the fans. It feels a bit like a victory! Hopefully we can start scoring consecutively in the points from here. I think we still need to improve on Sundays, but we did a good job today and managed it well.
“In reflection on Miami and Thursday, maybe I see it in a different way now. The Stewards did their job in Miami and perhaps we see things differently from inside the car in the heat of the moment. I am fully supportive of the FIA’s ideas and we want to work with them to improve the show for the fans.”
