Fernando Alonso extended his points scoring run to four races in a row, after snatching tenth place off Williams Racing’s George Russell in the closing stages of the Austrian Grand Prix. Team-mate Esteban Ocon retired on the first lap.
After starting in fourteenth place, Alonso had a lot of ground to make up if he wanted to keep his points run going. The veteran Spaniard dug deep throughout the race where for almost the entirety of it, he sat behind Russell who was occupying the final points spot.
With four laps remaining though Alonso made his move on Russell and climbed up to tenth, extending his run of consecutive points finishes and adding a single point to the team’s tally. Alonso despite being happy with the point, believes he deserved more.
“It was difficult to score points today and we knew this starting from so far back. We are happy with the point, although we know we deserved more this weekend, but it’s better than nothing. It was a tense and a good battle with George [Russell] on-track this afternoon and in the end, we had better tyres and managed to accomplish the overtake.
“On a positive, we saw some good improvements from the team this weekend and the car felt good across all three days here. I feel more confident now going into Silverstone for the next race with the car and the tyres and I’m enjoying being more competitive.”
“I can’t seem to catch a break at the moment” – Esteban Ocon
On the other side of the Alpine F1 Team garage, Esteban Ocon’s disastrous fortnight at the Red Bull Ring came to a crashing end.
After failing yet again to make it to second qualifying, Ocon got caught up in the midfield mayhem on the opening lap. The Frenchman who can’t seem to catch a break since signing his contract extension with the team, saw his race last three corners.
Coming out of turn three on the opening lap, Ocon got sandwiched between Mick Schumacher and Antonio Giovinazzi, destroying his Alpine’s front right suspension leading to an immediate retirement from the grand prix.
Ocon has had a torrid time in Austria and will be hoping his fortunes will change at the British Grand Prix.
“It was unfortunate for our race to end early today. There wasn’t much I could have done as I was sandwiched between Mick [Schumacher] and Antonio [Giovinazzi] at Turn 3 in a racing incident. It’s one of those things and a consequence of starting the race at the back.
“There’s always a chance for fights and contact and it’s easier to be caught up in trouble there. The team and I can’t seem to catch a break at the moment. We’ll reset, restart from zero and prepare for Silverstone. The only way we can go is forwards.”
Credit: Alpine F1 Team