Gasly makes ‘bingo card’ claim after shock Alpine double podium
Pierre Gasly has claimed that Alpine claiming a shock double podium in the São Paulo Grand Prix was not even on any “bingo cards” following the team’s difficult season.
Gasly and Esteban Ocon performed incredibly at Interlagos in difficult wet conditions throughout the race, with the pair having qualified in 15th and fourth, respectively.
For Gasly, the Frenchman made some excellent overtakes and smart choices, the smartest of which was not pitting prior to a red flag on lap 33 after a heavy crash for Franco Colapinto.
He restarted the race in third and remained there for the remainder of the race, marking his first podium since last season’s Dutch Grand Prix.
“It’s incredible for the whole team,” said Gasly. “We’ve had such a tough season, we’ve struggled to score points.
“In these conditions, everything was possible, and we believed it until the end, two cars on the podium.
“I don’t think anyone would have got that on their bingo card ahead of the season. So it’s just fantastic.”
Ocon magic
As for Ocon, the departing Alpine driver was exceptional in the wet from the beginning of Sunday in qualifying, where he put his car fourth on the grid.
He remained in the leading places throughout the race and actually led after George Russell and Lando Norris pitted just before the red flag.
Ocon restarted the race following the red flag excellently and built a gap of three seconds to Max Verstappen.
Unfortunately, Ocon failed to restart the race as strongly when a second safety car was required on lap 40, after Carlos Sainz crashed.
When the race restarted on lap 43, Verstappen overtook Ocon at the first corner, leaving the 28-year-old to finish in a superb second.
“What a day that was,” said Ocon. “After the difficult season, it’s really nice to be driving around here and having the performance a bit levelled out with the rain.
“Someone very important to all of us said a long time ago that, in the rain, the cars are almost equal. And that phrase didn’t age at all.
“I’m very happy to be today on the podium, I think it’s been awesome.”
