'The World's Fastest Street Circuit' returned again this year for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Followin a super P5 on the grid, Esteban started the race well and held his position during the opening spells of the 50-lap Grand Prix. After some exchanges with the Mercedes of George Russell and Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, the Alpine pair of Esteban and Fernando Alonso battled hard in what we some very exciting wheel to wheel action of their own and provided much of the early entertainment.
A Safety Car was then called on lap 14 for the damaged Williams of Latifi, and the team seized the opportunity to pit Esteban and move him onto the Hard tyres.
At the Safety Car restart, both cars held positions and Fernando honed in on Kevin Magnussen ahead, eventually moving up into seventh place.
At the same time, Esteban moved into the top ten just a few seconds behind his team-mate.
Not long after, Fernando was unfortunately forced to retire his A522 after an issue brought an end to his strong race. In the sole remaining Alpine, Esteban managed to gain a number of positions and with a number of car retirements around him, he moved into sixth position.
The Frenchman – who seems to enjoy a last lap battle on track here in Jeddah – fended off a late surge from the McLaren of Lando Norris behind, and crossed the line narrowly ahead at the chequered flag.
Esteban Ocon,Started P5, Finished P6):
“It's some good points scored again for us and I'm happy overall with my race. The fight with Fernando was enjoyable. It was hard, fair, wheel to wheel racing, which reminded me of the karting days. With these cars, you can really race and follow, which is good for the sport.
It’s a shame we couldn't put both cars into the points but we're showing that we're competitive and we must continue that. It was an exciting end to the race as well just beating Lando [Norris] to the line. It felt a bit like redemption for last year!"
The result leaves BWT Alpine F1 Team fourth in the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship on 16 points, as attention now shifts to the Australian Grand Prix.
