Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly made it to the podium. © APA/afp / NELSON ALMEIDA

Alpine hits a million-dollar jackpot in Brazil

Frenchmen Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished second and third behind Max Verstappen in Sao Paulo, saving the Formula 1 team's season.

04 November 2024

From: apa

In a rainy and chaotic race at the Interlagos circuit, Alpine improved from ninth to sixth place in the constructors' championship, ahead of Haas and the Racing Bulls. The constructors' championship will decide how the prize money is distributed among the ten teams.

Experts assume that Alpine would receive up to 50 million dollars (45,9 million euros) more if the French racing team held its position over the next three races. Former team boss Flavio Briatore, who now works as a consultant for the team, spoke of 29,2 million euros. "It's 29,2 million. That's the first thing I asked," said the 74-year-old in an interview with Sky Italy.

A difficult start to the season

"Two cars on the podium. I don't think anyone would have had that on their bingo card before the season," said Gasly. "We struggled at times, were at the back and it was tough for everyone involved. But nobody gave up and everyone stayed focused and motivated."

Alpine consultant: Flavio Briatore © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC

Joy and relief were also noticeable in Ocon. "I'm very happy today and I really don't know if I'm in a dream or in reality. I'm so proud of the whole team," said the 28-year-old. For a brief moment he even thought he could catch up with Verstappen, "but Max was faster than us in the last stint."

Team boss Oliver Oakes, who took up his job in August as the fifth boss in four years, spoke of a "mega success" after Ocon qualified fourth and Gasly 15th. "We were a bit frustrated that we didn't make it into Q3 with both cars, but they have more than made up for that now," he stressed. "This team is a great team, it always has been," he said of the Enstone-based squad, which has won championships in the past as Benetton and Renault.

Ocon's farewell gift

Ocon and Gasly are the same age and will only be teammates for three races. Next season, Ocon will drive for Haas. "I'm also very happy for Esteban, who drove a great race today. We have our history," said Gasly and explained: "We grew up together in the same area and drove karts as children. Not only did we both make it to Formula 1, but we also became teammates and now we are on the podium together in the same team."

Caused a sensation: Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly © APA/afp / NELSON ALMEIDA

Ocon said it was "like the good old days when we started karting in similar conditions". He was "overjoyed to be able to share this podium with Pierre". For him, it was his best result since his victory in Hungary in 2021, his only one in Formula 1 so far. He added: "It proves again that we can do it and we just have to keep working hard in the last three races." With the 33 points from Sunday, Alpine now has 49 points, three more than Haas and five more than RB.