F1 | Saudi Arabian GP | Ocon disappointed by missing out on the podium but also grateful to Alpine: “I’m very proud of the whole team today”
Esteban Ocon had a super performance at the race, managing to get so close to a podium and even leading the race.
The first edition of the Saudi Arabian GP will be remembered as a chaotic, flamboyant event. Especially for Esteban Ocon, that went dramatically close to a podium after the two red flags. The Frenchman found himself in the middle of the fight for the title, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and had the chance to start first and lead the race after the second red flag.
Never forget @OconEsteban, you led the inaugural #SaudiArabianGP. You fought like a lion, among the very best. What a race!👏 pic.twitter.com/hEOYKFYVic
— Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) December 5, 2021
“I gave it my all today. The competitor inside of me is disappointed to miss out on the podium by such a short distance, but I’m very proud of the whole team today” – Ocon says. He specifies also, how proud he is of the work made by Alpine, who proved to be at the height of higher rank than expected. “What we achieved is outstanding and to take fourth place and add 12 more points in the bag in the championship is what counts” – he points out, putting the focus on what matters the most. “We took the right decisions in the race; we did everything we could on track and on strategy at the right moments, which put us in the best possible position to take big points.”
He then talks of the second restart of the race, which saw him start as a pole man. “It was quite fun to start on pole position too – I’ve not done that since 2015 in GP3 – but I knew my race was not with Lewis and Max in front. That said, the opportunity was there today and we can leave here with our heads high and feeling very proud. We move onto Abu Dhabi ready to finish the season on a high and take any opportunity that might come up.”
