Sunday, during the 3rd GP of the season at Portimao Alpine once again made a good impression. The new French team had a good race with a 7th and 8th place, enough to expect good results for the future, especially for the French Esteban Ocon.
On one of the most popular circuits of the season by the drivers, it was the French team that came out on top of the race in the middle of the peloton. The Alpine team, which is part of the Renault group’s sports entity, succeeded in everything on Sunday in Portugal. His two blue cars have indeed finished in the points by finishing 7th and 8th, with a gap of one second between the two pilots, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso.
Alpine made a nice tuck shot which allowed him to take some very valuable points in the fight for a good place in the constructors’ standings. A necessity for the team based between Enstone and Viry-Châtillon, which must be in a fight with the stables in the middle of the plateau. It now has 13 points and is therefore ahead of its direct competitors, namely Alpha Tauri and its nine points, mostly scored by Pierre Gasly, and Aston Martin’s five points., the new team of quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Ocon keeps the advantage over Alonso
But, while the French team has decided to replace Daniel Ricciardo who left for McLaren by recalling the world champion Fernando Alonso, it is Esteban Ocon who is making the best impression on the side of the blue cars for the moment. After a complicated start to the season, where the Frenchman finished 13th in Sakhir far from the others, he has since raised the bar. At Imola, he showed progress with his 9th place, finally signing a first race in the points. But, it was finally in Portimao that he was able to demonstrate all his talent.
After a successful qualifying session, with a 6th place on the grid, the native of Evreux was able to prove that the team could fight with the best. Indeed, after overtaking his compatriot Pierre Gasly, as well as Carlos Sainz Jr, the Norman resisted the return of his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo at the wheel of his McLaren. A race of good omen for Ocon, who once again finishes ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso, and which proves that Alpine can join in the fight with the others, finishing in particular in front of the Ferrari of the Spaniard and the McLaren of the Australian.
