Esteban Ocon had been waiting for this for two years. On Sunday May 28, the Frenchman from the Alpine team took third place in the Monaco Grand Prix, signing his first podium in Formula 1 since his victory in Hungary in 2021. The Normand took full advantage of his third position acquired in qualifying to pass the race at the forefront, resisting the onslaught of the Spaniard Carlos Sainz in the narrow streets of Monte-Carlo.
“What a great weekend, we improved the car all weekend without making a single misstep,” savored the Frenchman, euphoric at the finish. Thanks to this third place, he also gave Alpine its first podium since 2021. His teammate Pierre Gasly finished seventh.
Far ahead, Max Verstappen honored his status as double world champion by winning again in the principality, as in 2021. Never really in trouble, the Red Bull driver led the race from start to finish to clinch a prestigious success, his fourth of the season, ahead of another driver with two world crowns, the Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
Max Verstappen leads the general classification of the world championship and took advantage of the Monegasque race to further confirm the supremacy of the Red Bull team this season. In the championship, Max Verstappen consolidates his lead over his teammate Sergio Pérez, only 16th in a weekend to forget for the winner of the event last year.
Fernando Alonso still passes very close
“We weren’t sure what was going to happen. (…) We had to stay calm, drive in all conditions, ”reacted the Dutchman at the finish of this 80th Monaco GP. The uncertainty came mainly from the weather, and the rain actually came to liven up the last third of a long monotonous race. In the end, it only worried Max Verstappen a little.
Fernando Alonso was not really in trouble either when the first drops of water fell on the circuit. On the other hand, his team’s strategy against the capricious Monegasque sky could have cost him dearly since the veteran of the grid (41 years old) was first called to the pits to put on the medium tires… before being called back a lap later. late to put on the intermediates, better suited to the wet track.
“It was difficult,” conceded the Spaniard. “We had to play with strategy. Max rode really well with the mediums (in the first part of the race), then the rain arrived. It complicated things and it was not easy to drive in these conditions. »
Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen and the other drivers from the paddock now meet in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix on June 4. In front of his audience, Fernando Alonso will try to get his first success since 2013, he who has often come close this season. The Aston Martin driver is currently third overall thanks to five podiums.
