It was a combination of consistency and defeat for the Alpine team as the checkered flag waved at the Saudi Arabian GP. While Esteban Ocon managed to be the sole driver to secure points for the team finishing P6, his teammate Fernando Alonso had to retire the race due to unknown engine issues. 

Although Ocon started P5 and lost a place finishing P6, the Frenchman expressed his satisfaction with the new regulations. Ocon also recalled one of the highlights of the race that occurred when he engaged in an exciting on-track battle with his teammate.      

“It’s some good points scored again for us and I’m happy overall with my race. The fight with Fernando was enjoyable. It was hard, fair, wheel to wheel racing, which reminded me of the karting days,” Ocon said.

“With these cars, you can really race and follow, which is good for the sport. It’s a shame we couldn’t put both cars into the points but we’re showing that we’re competitive and we must continue that. It was an exciting end to the race as well just beating Lando [Norris] to the line. It felt a bit like redemption for last year!”

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal at Alpine, discussed the positives and negatives of the Saudi Arabian GP, focusing on the strong P6 finish by Ocon while addressing the work that needs to be done to resolvethe issues with Alonso’s car. 

“We have mixed feelings from today’s race and, in general, it’s another strong result, which underlines our competitiveness. It’s a great result for Esteban to finish in sixth place. He’s been solid all weekend and it’s good for him to convert a strong qualifying performance into a healthy bag of points,” Szafnauer said.

“We do have a taste of disappointment that we were unable to put both of our cars into the points with Fernando unfortunately retiring from the race after driving very well all evening. 

Sharing Ocon’s sentiment for close racing, Szafnauer also expressed his contentment for having both drivers fighting hard on track with each other. The Alpine team principal believes the A522 has the potential to allow both drivers to fight for maxim points. 

“We’re investigating the issue to see what exactly has occurred. It’s clear our car has the potential to fight for big points as demonstrated by both of our drivers tonight. We’re happy to let them race hard and fair as, in the end, having both drivers extracting the absolute maximum from the car is what we’re here to do.”

“Everyone at the team will continue to work hard on our return to Enstone and Viry to best prepare ourselves for Formula 1’s highly anticipated return to Melbourne in two weeks’ time. Well done to everyone at the team, we’ll keep pushing!”