Author: Barkha Roy
Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon revealed their satisfaction after winning double points at the recently concluded Grand Prix of Miami.
Despite not doing well in Australia and Azerbaijan, after colliding with each other during a late restart at Albert Park, the two French drivers withdrew from the race. Unfortunately, they also failed to score points at Baku City Circuit in the previous race, which put pressure on them to perform well at the Miami International Circuit.
Despite the pressure, the two drivers managed to finish eighth and ninth, with Gasly finishing a few seconds ahead of his teammate. Alpine showed its potential by finishing as the fifth fastest team, with only Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Ferrari being faster.
Alpine is currently sixth in the constructors’ championship standings, having taken a total of 14 points from the first five rounds of the season. Their recent performance in Miami has allowed Alpine to catch up with McLaren, who were narrowly beaten into fourth place last season.
After the race, Gasly shared his thoughts and acknowledged that there were some positives to take away from his performance. He highlighted his great start, which saw him briefly take fourth place in the race. However, Gasly admitted that he struggled to keep up with Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso due to a lack of pace. Despite this, Gasly remained optimistic and expressed his determination to improve in the coming races.
Ocon also expressed his satisfaction with his performance, having returned to the points after finishing just a few seconds behind his teammate Gasly. He stressed the importance of the Alpine cars finishing in the points and acknowledged the team’s efforts to recover from a challenging weekend. Ocon mentioned his exciting battles with Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, in which he made some daring overtakes and got involved in a back and forth race with Sainz, who ended up finishing ahead of him.
The next race weekend will be held at the Imola Circuit in Italy from May 19 to 21, after a week’s rest. While Alpine is currently sixth in the constructors’ championship, Pierre Gasly is 10th with eight points in the drivers’ championship, while Esteban Ocon is 12th with six points.