An ecstatic Esteban Ocon shares his emotions as he nabs P2 for struggling Alpine in a tricky, rain-soaked Brazil Grand Prix.
Following an inspiring P2 finish for Esteban Ocon ahead of his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, the Frenchman shared his joy at the shock finish for the struggling French marque. Amidst the chaos brought about by changeable but ever-wet weather conditions, Ocon made the most of the conditions.
Speaking immediately after the Grand Prix, he cited the equalising effect of wet conditions as a key contributor to his result.
“What a day that was!” Ocon said after the Grand Prix. “After a difficult season, it’s really nice to be driving around here and having the performance a bit levelled out in the rain. Someone very important to all of us said a long time ago ‘in the rain, the cars are almost equal.’ That phrase didn’t age at all.
“I’m very happy to be on the podium today. I think it’s been awesome, the support I received here from all the Brazilian fans is incredible. I can’t thank everyone enough.”
Sharing his emotion following the result, speaking with Sky Sports F1, Ocon shared he couldn’t tell if he was dreaming. He went on to say that Alpine’s difficult season to this point made today’s result even better.
“I don’t know if it’s a dream or it’s reality at the moment.” He said. “It’s an incredible day. It’s a day no one would have believed if you told us yesterday.
“Today we were able to fight for real. It feels so good and it feels even more great because we’ve been struggling in the dry. We didn’t have the tools to fight and we’ve been struggling more than normal. Today we’ve shown that we’ve still got it. When there’s an opportunity we can still be there to take it and we are strong to take it, and that’s beautiful.”
When asked if the team had catered the car setup for the conditions, Ocon went on to share his relief having seen the wet conditions. He admitted his A524 was difficult to control in the dry.
“No.” He replied when asked about the setup. “The car was extremely difficult in the dry. I felt at ease when it started to rain this morning and last night. I really wanted to get some laps in the rain. I love it here when it rains and today has brought a special race for us.”
He went on to share an anecdote of driving with teammate Pierre Gasly early in their careers in karting, a memory he says was brought back when the two Alpine’s completed their in-laps side by side following their double podium finish.
“Well done to Pierre [Gasly] as well.” He started. “We’ve had our stories for sure, but today it’s just incredible and it will be something I will remember forever. When we did that side by side lap at the end, some memories, flashbacks came back.
“I remembered when we were racing in the wet in this little go kart track, and today reminds me of that. From where we both come from it’s a beautiful story.
“I think only both of us can understand what that means because we both work so hard. We’re giving it everything every single time. Once it’s him, once it’s me, whoever is in front but we always give 100%. Today, the reward that we get, to be both on the podium with a car that doesn’t deserve to be there, everyone will agree with that. It’s beautiful.”
