After an impeccable race, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon landed his maiden F1 victory with 1.8s to spare!
Joining him on the podium today was Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in second and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in third – after the British driver charged from 14th to the podium places.
Unaware of the race-winners procedure, the Frenchman parked in the wrong place – at the end of the pitlane – meaning a delighted Ocon had to run back down the pit lane.
Speaking after the race, he said; “What a moment.
“We’ve had some difficult moments this season but we are back where we belong.
“Sebastian put me under big pressure but we managed to keep him off, so it’s a great moment.”
After fighting with Ocon for the victory, a slightly disappointed Vettel spoke about his P2 finish and said;
“I’m obviously a little bit disappointed because I felt I was faster for the majority of the race.
“But he didn’t make a single mistake. I pushed very hard.”
Hamilton then said; “Today was definitely tough, we always make it difficult for ourselves.
“It’s crazy to think we were the only ones on the grid at the start but these things happen, and we learn from them. I gave it everything, and I had nothing left at the end.
“I was telling the team how the track was through the lap (before race restart) but they said rain was coming when I got back in the car, so I thought they had other information. I then saw everyone diving in (to the pits)…
“We came in this weekend and didn’t know how it was going to go, and considering the circumstances today I’ll take it.”
More to follow.
