Portuguese Grand Prix – Ocon solid from start to finish

Starting 6th in the Portuguese Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon finished the race in 7th place, which is his best result so far in this 2021 edition of the World Championship. His teammate Fernando Alonso finishing just behind him, Alpine classifies both of its cars in the points for the 2nd time this season after Imola.

Author of a rather good start, Ocon quickly engaged in an intense battle with Lando Norris, to the advantage of the McLaren driver. After the restart of the race in lap 8 following Räikkönen’s accident, the Frenchman found himself once again side by side, this time with the Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who managed to pass him as well.

On Canal + microphone, Ocon shared his feelings on these duels: “Charles and Lando had more pace than us.” He still praises the good strategy and the good pace of his car that allowed him to make some overtakes.

« It was a solid race. We had a good strategy and good speed, Fernando and I, it’s nice to both be in the points ». Indeed the Norman driver seemed quite comfortable, following his pit stop to put on hard tires on lap 23. He managed to overtake Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz on laps 34 and 45, respectively, and then held onto 7th place until the end of the race.

« It was a strong race. We had a good strategy and a good pace Fernando and I! »

I had good battles with Norris and Sainz, we showed that the strategy was working!

A little scare nonetheless at the very end of the race, with Fernando Alonso coming back to just 1.2 seconds after a spectacular comeback. But it’s Esteban Ocon who achieved the best result for Alpine in Portugal!