We had to wait 27 years to see two French people on the podium of a Formula 1 Grand Prix again. In São Paulo, Max Verstappen made his return to the top step of the podium, accompanied by the two Alpine drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. While the latter started from afar at the start of the event, Ocon could dream of a podium even before taking off.
After a qualifying session which saw him set the fourth fastest time, Esteban Ocon started on the second row, alongside Yuki Tsunoda. Author of a calm start, without errors, the Frenchman was able to maintain his position behind the Japanese.
Blocked behind the Visa Cash App RB driver, the Alpine had to wait until the 27th lap to take third place in the Grand Prix. When the virtual safety car and then the real safety car appeared, Esteban Ocon decided to stay on track while most of the other drivers dived into the pit lane.
The red flag caused by Franco Colapinto's accident confirmed Alpine's choice to keep its drivers on the track. Ocon, like Max Verstappen and Gasly, the only three drivers not to have stopped, was able to take advantage of the neutralization of the race to change his tires “for free.”
At the restart, Esteban Ocon was able to maintain his leading position for around fifteen laps, until the safety car intervened again. After this, the Frenchman was surprised by the Dutchman behind him who dived at the first corner and took the lead of the race. Without being worried, the Alpine driver was able to cross the finish line in second place, followed by his teammate, allowing Alpine to take sixth place in the manufacturers' standings.
“Very happy! I don't know if it's a dream or reality because given where we were yesterday, it seemed impossible to come back that much and have that much performance”, declared Ocon at the microphone of Canal+. “When the conditions are difficult, we see that we can fight, it levels out the performance of the cars a little as I said earlier in qualifying, a super qualifying that we managed to achieve Besides.”
“Today, we were in the lead of this Grand Prix, I believed in it for a little while. I managed to outrun Max but unfortunately, he was faster than us on the last stint. There was no of regrets to have with such a result today, it's just incredible.”
“It's great. We've had difficulties in recent races. Things didn't work out the way we wanted and we clearly see that when there are different conditions, we're there. It proves that we can do it. There was never any doubt, but when you take so long to get back into interesting positions, you always have a little doubt deep down.”
Just before him, Pierre Gasly spoke on Canal+ about the relationship between the two men, who grew up together during their karting years. Two drivers whose paths diverged before finding themselves together within the French manufacturer. Even if we know that their relationship has never been the most beautiful, the two French people said they were happy to share this historic moment together.
“I was thinking about it too, even on the last lap. I said to myself: 'It's going to be incredible, to make a podium together'”said Ocon. “It's a bit like the good times when we were on the podium on the small karting tracks in our area, a bit with the same conditions too. These are conditions that we have always known. It's an image that will remain engraved for me to do this final ride side by side.”
