Esteban Ocon scores the first point for Alpine in Miami

Alpine had made changes before the Miami Grand Prix, notably with the arrival of David Sanchez as the team’s general technical director based in Enstone, the latter having recently been released from McLaren. Esteban Ocon had stated that Sanchez’s arrival was an important sign that Alpine was taking the early-season issues seriously.

« Things are changing,” Ocon replied when asked by Autosport how he evaluates the progress made by the team at their factory. “You saw the announcement of David Sanchez’s arrival. The team is making efforts to change things and is not satisfied with the current situation of being where we are. We should progress and not regress, as has been the case this year. Bruno and all the team members are competitors and they want to do well.”

Esteban Ocon and his teammate Pierre Gasly had a difficult start to the 2024 season with Alpine, one of the three teams that had not scored any points in five races. The team led by Bruno Famin accelerated the development of a new floor for China, which the two drivers were able to use in Miami. The team also aims to reduce the weight of their A524 car. A winning gamble that allowed Alpine to secure its first point.

An important point

Esteban Ocon had started 13th on the grid, is attacked from the very beginning of the race by Fernando Alonso. He had to fight against his teammate, who started 12th. The two French drivers battled wheel to wheel at the end of the second sector and throughout the third, with the advantage going to Pierre Gasly.

On the 23rd lap, a cone hits Max Verstappen’s single-seater, ending up in the middle of the track, triggering a virtual safety car, giving Esteban Ocon enough time to go through the pits. A very good timing for the French driver, who found himself in a good position to fight for a top 10 finish for the rest of the race. In 9th place, with ten laps to go, he saw Fernando Alonso overtake him. Finishing 10th in the final standings, the Alpine driver secured his point for the tenth place until the checkered flag.

The driver knows that there is still work to be done even if he is satisfied with this point. We cannot be 100% satisfied, it is just a point, we must continue to progress but when we look at where we were in Bahrain, 19th and 20th, I think we can be proud and continue to be motivated, by improving the car little by little because today we are finally coming out of a weekend with a certain satisfaction, he declared after the race.

A glimmer of hope for the French team, allowing them to catch their breath before the next race at Imola in two weeks.