The BWT Alpine F1 Team returned to the points with both cars after a thrilling first Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in a rugged Hard Rock Stadium. Esteban Ocon progressed from the back of the grid to eighth place, while Fernando Alonso finished in ninth place, scoring six points together.
Fernando crossed the line in eighth with Esteban in ninth, but a five-second penalty for the Spaniard after an incident earlier in the race meant their positions were reversed. Fernando had enough time to take two points at the end.
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Fernando had a strong start from the line and was able to propel himself into the points places as he held onto eighth place at the start. After pitting for Hards on lap 15, the Spaniard was on course for the top ten before a turn 1 collision with Pierre Gasly resulted in his time penalty. Fernando was able to widen the gap in the closing stages and cross the line in eighth, with the time penalty relegating him by one position.
Esteban, meanwhile, drove a long and patient opening stint at Hards in hopes of a late Safety Car. And with the late collision between Gasly and Lando Norris on lap 40, Esteban was able to take advantage of the Safety Car period to pit for new tires without affecting track position. The Frenchman had to show patience again in the closing stages and with Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel colliding late, Esteban jumped to ninth place at the checkered flag and eighth on Fernando’s time penalty, giving him a fantastic attempt to advance twelve positions. completed.
Esteban Ocon, started P20, finished P8:
“What a race! A big thank you to the team for all the hard work at night putting the badly wrecked car back together after that big shunt in practice on Saturday. They are the real stars this weekend. For me it feels great to come away with points after starting from the back of the grid and I am definitely going away happy after such a tough day yesterday. The car and strategy were great, it was a well managed race and we are closing an exciting first weekend of racing in Miami in style. Now we need to maintain that momentum as we go back to Europe for the next round.”
Fernando Alonso, started P11, finished P9:
“I’m happy to be back in the points today. In the race I made some good moves at the start and gained some positions. We were a bit unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car and a few others were quite lucky. We were probably in battle for seventh or eighth without. I then made a mistake trying to overtake Pierre [Gasly] which was my mistake and I apologize. Overall, I think our race pace seemed good. It was also very hot and humid so it was quite challenging for us physically. We take the points today because I think we deserved it.”
Laurent Rossi, Alpine CEO: “We are pleased with today’s race as it was quite a recovery effort to save our weekend. We’ll get out of Miami by returning to the points with both cars, which was important after a disappointment at Imola. Thanks to Esteban for driving a strong race to get from the back of the grid to eighth. This would not have been possible without the exceptional work of its car crew preparing a new chassis after yesterday’s incident. Scoring points is a fair reward for everyone’s effort. Fernando also drove a solid race, especially at the start to score points. In the end, with the time penalty of five seconds, it is ninth place, which we will definitely take after yesterday’s qualifying. Miami has proven to be an outstanding event both on and off the track, so congratulations to everyone on the team for their hard work this weekend. We need to build on our number of points and we are now looking forward to Barcelona where we return to more familiar grounds. We are hungry to resume a series of points scoring in the next set of races.