Ocon contributes to Alonso’s podium at the Qatar Grand Prix
After a perfectly managed Qatar Grand Prix by Alpine, Frenchman Esteban Ocon reflected on his duel with Perez. A duel that played an important role in the podium of his teammate Fernando Alonso.
It was Fernando Alonso’s big comeback to the F1 podium, 7 years after his last appearance. He clinched a third place not without the help of Esteban Ocon. The two Alpine cars were on a one-stop strategy while Perez had made two stops.
Once the Red Bull is in the Frenchman’s rearview mirrors, his team asks him to “get elbows out” to hold back the Mexican and allow Alonso to cling to this third place for as long as possible.
« So I came to the radio saying, “How far is Fernando?” and the team said, “Oh, you have to defend now.” And I said, “Yeah, that’s why I was asking you guys! I am aware of this situation”, Ocon said.
The Frenchman then managed to hold back Perez for 1 lap and a half, thus making him lose precious time in his race for third place.
« So yes, I wanted to do my best to try to slow down Checo as much as possible so that he couldn’t attack Fernando towards the end. I slowed him down for a good three seconds and that’s what we needed », explains the French driver.
This position was the opposite of what happened in Hungary when the Frenchman won earlier this year. Alonso had heroically defended against Hamilton for several laps, thus allowing Ocon to take the lead.
« It wasn’t as easy to defend as Budapest because the straights are longer and he was on fresher tires, so it was a different set of circumstances, but I’m happy to have played my part and I gave back a bit of what Fernando gave me in Budapest,” the Alpine driver concluded.
