“Credit to Esteban for driving a strong race” – Alpine’s Laurent Rossi

BWT Alpine F1 Team CEO, Laurent Rossi, was delighted with the performance of Esteban Ocon following the Miami Grand Prix. The Frenchman was the only Alpine to finish in the points at the Miami International Autodrome, after team-mate Fernando Alonso received two, five-second time penalties.

Ocon recovered brilliantly in Miami to finish in eighth-place, having started from the pit-lane following a big crash in Free Practice 3. The Frenchman ran deep into the race on hard tyres, hoping that a late safety car would occur allowing him to get a cheap pit-stop.

The Alpine driver got just that, after Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly collided on the exit of Turn 7. The crash came as a result though of Alonso dive-bombing Gasly at the start of the same lap, resulting in damage for the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver.

Alonso was awarded a five-second penalty for the collision, which he accepted full blame for. This penalty meant that despite crossing the line in eighth, he was demoted to ninth.

Rossi spoke after the race, about how pleased he was with what he thought was a double-points finish for the team.

“We’re satisfied with today’s race as it’s been a decent recovery effort to save our weekend. We come away from Miami by returning to the points with both cars, which was important after tasting disappointment in Imola. Credit to Esteban for driving a strong race to go from the back of the grid to eighth place.

“This would have not been possible without his car crew’s exceptional work in preparing a new chassis after yesterday’s incident. To score points is a just reward for everyone’s efforts. Fernando too drove a solid race, especially at the start to move himself into points scoring contention.

“In the end, with the five second time penalty, it’s ninth place, which we’ll certainly take after yesterday’s qualifying. Miami has proved to be an excellent event both on track and off it, so congratulations to everyone at the team for their hard work this weekend. We must build on our points haul and we now look forward to Barcelona where we return to more familiar grounds. We’re hungry to restart a points-scoring streak over the next string of races.”

Alonso’s second, five-second penalty came after the drivers and team members had done their media duties. Alonso was awarded the second penalty, which demoted him outside the points to eleventh, for running off-track and gaining an advantage. An unfortunate error by the Double World Champion.