It was a strong performance by Esteban in his home race, after he made a strong start to moe up to eighth position early on, before minor contact with the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda on the opening lap.
Esteban then had to overcome a five-second time penalty which was served under a Lap 18 Safety Car to minimize the time loss as much as position - rejoining just inside the points as the field bunched up for the restart.
The Frenchman showed patience to recover the deficit and ensure he came home with points courtesy of a second well-crafted overtake around the outside of Turn 10 on McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo seven laps from the end to steal P8, which he held to the chequered flag.
Esteban’s four points brings his first score in Formula 1 at his home race , following his strong recovery drive from the opening lap incident, to take eighth place at the finish.
BWT Alpine F1 Team now moves onto 93 points in the Constructors’ Championship heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix – the final race before the summer shutdown.
Esteban Ocon (Started P10, Finished P8):
“The goal today was to score points with both cars, and we’ve done just that! I’m happy with my race today and it was brilliant to drive in front of the home fans who have been incredible all weekend, so thanks to them for all their support. It was a tough one out there in the heat, and I enjoyed the on-track racing with some tight battles.
We’re now fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, so we leave here feeling very positive and motivated to keep that position. I do hope we race in France next year as there is nothing quite like a home Grand Prix.
Merci to all the fans and allez Alpine!”
The final race before the Summer Break will take place at the Hungaroring - the very place where Esteban took his first Formula One Grand Prix victory, just one year ago!
