Esteban Ocon: “Seventh place is a great result”

Esteban Ocon was left delighted after his seventh-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix helped the BWT Alpine F1 Team secure fourth-place in the Constructors’ Championship, at the final round of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The French driver was able to see out a two-stop strategy which saw him come home for the final seventeen laps on the Hard compound of tyre. In the closing stages of the race around the Yas Marina Circuit, Ocon had his sights firmly set on Lando Norris and despite the Alpine driver managing to get within DRS, he would ultimately run out of laps and have to settle for seventh position.

Despite failing to catch Norris in the closing stages, the French driver chose to look at the positives after his six-point haul from Abu Dhabi allowed him to surpass his previous best points record across a Formula 1 season.

“On my side, it is the best points finish of my career, so that is very satisfying. In terms of today’s race, seventh place is a great result and, with one more lap, it could have been sixth as I was catching Lando [Norris] at the end.“

Ocon’s sixteenth points finish of the season combined with the McLaren F1 Team’s failure to take home a substantial points haul, would allow Alpine to claim fourth in the Constructors’, allowing the Enstone-based team to secure their best finish in the Constructors’ Championship since 2018.

Speaking after his seventh-place finish, Ocon was quick to congratulate the team on their collective success across the season.

“I would like to say a massive congratulations to the whole team, here trackside and at the factories in Viry and Enstone, for claiming fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. It’s been a long and intense season and it feels good to have reached the goal we set at the beginning of the year.“

Even after tensions had run high between the two in the closing rounds of the season, Ocon wished his departing teammate Fernando Alonso well, as the Spaniard prepares to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team for the 2023 season.

“I have enjoyed the last couple of years with Fernando and I wish him all the best for next year. He will always be a legend of this team and, of the sport, and I look forward to racing him on-track next season. Now it’s time for a break before getting back to work to prepare for next year.”

Fernando Alonso: “Unfortunately, it’s another retirement for us today after we were fighting for the points”

Fernando Alonso‘s tenure with the Alpine team would prove to end in an unceremonious fashion, after the Spaniard was forced to retire from the race just before the halfway point.

Just after making his only pit-stop of the race, Alonso had been on the charge to return to the points-paying positions, until a suspected water leak on his A522 on lap twenty-eight brought a premature end to his final race as an Alpine driver.

Sunday’s retirement marked the sixth time this season that Alonso has faced his race coming to an early end. Despite the disappointment on how his race panned out, Alonso took the time to congratulate Alpine on achieving their target of finishing fourth in the Constructors’.

“Unfortunately, it’s another retirement for us today after we were fighting for the points and looking quite comfortable. Importantly the team finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, which was the goal coming into this weekend, so well done to everyone at the team on achieving this target. “

The two-time world champion ended by offering a fond farewell to Alpine, in which Alonso stated he will always remember the good times within the Enstone-based team.

“Even though it’s a goodbye to the team after this weekend, I will always think of Alpine with good memories. I spent nine years of my life with this team and won two championships in the past with Renault, so I wish them well for the future.”

Credit: BWT Alpine F1 Team