Two French drivers on the podium, a first in 27 years
With their respective second and third places at the São Paulo Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly achieved a rare performance in recent Formula 1 history.
The love story between Formula 1 and French drivers is made of particularly striking highs and periods of drought that are too long for French fans. The double podium of the two Alpine drivers in São Paulo will undoubtedly remain in the memories and is part of the great book of significant events in this sport.
On the soaked track of Interlagos, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly made no mistakes during a race where driving could make the difference even in an inherently inferior single-seater. The two Normans simply achieved a major feat in the history of French Formula 1.
Because it has not been common for several decades to find a French driver on a Formula 1 podium, let alone two French drivers. With this edition of the Brazilian Grand Prix, or rather the São Paulo Grand Prix, we had to go back to the Spanish Grand Prix in 1997 to find such a performance.
On this occasion, Olivier Panis had finished second in a Prost Mugen-Honda ahead of Jean Alesi in a Benetton-Renault. The team, then managed by Flavio Briatore, will be bought by Renault a few years later and will have several owners and names before becoming Alpine F1 Team in 2021. On the podium, Panis and Alesi shared the box with the Canadian winner Jacques Villeneuve, making it a 100% French-speaking podium.
Three years earlier, or exactly thirty years ago, we have to go back to find a podium with two French drivers racing for a French team. At the 1994 German Grand Prix held at the Hockenheim circuit, the two Ligier-Renault drivers Olivier Panis and Eric Bernard finished second and third respectively behind Gerhard Berger's Ferrari. But unlike the 2024 Alpine whose chassis is manufactured in Enstone, England, the Ligiers were 100% French single-seaters from the factory of the brand created by Guy Ligier.
In 2025, if Gasly still drivers for Alpine, Ocon will fly to Haas F1 and the possibility of seeing two French drivers at the wheel of two French cars in the top 3 of a Grand Prix will therefore be nil. Let's hope to see these two quickly back on the podium, with one of them on the top step!
