12 June 2022

BWT Alpine F1 Team leaves Baku with an additional seven points under its belt, with Fernando Alonso finishing in seventh and Esteban Ocon in tenth, following an exciting Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This moves Alpine to fifth position, with 47 points, in the Constructors’ Championship.

 

Following a typical start on the urban Baku track, both drivers held on to their grid slots, tenth and thirteenth. The race was on when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 9. Fernando continued on Mediums, gradually working his way up with every pit stop. Under a green flag, the Spaniard switched to Hards on lap 18.

 

Esteban also kept his starting tyres (Hards) and entered the top ten following the virtual safety car. With a fresh set of tyres, Fernando pushed through the pack, leaving several competitors in his wake in Sector 3.

 

As his teammate climbed up the ranks, Esteban was on the defensive against pursuers with newer tyres. The French driver ultimately made his mandatory pit-stop on lap 33 before benefiting from another virtual safety car, coming out in eleventh position.

 

When the battle resumed, Fernando was in seventh and Esteban tenth.

 

Both drivers held their steady pace through the final sector, in a battle for the top ten. The two McLarens did everything in their power to catch up to Fernando and overtake him. But the Spaniard held his own, crossing the finish line in seventh place for the second consecutive race. Esteban managed to get in the points in tenth, for his sixth top ten finish of the season.

 

Esteban Ocon, started P13, finished P10:

 

“It was a really tough race today, so we’re glad to walk away with two cars in the points and another top ten. As always, we will analyse everything with the team to see where we can make improvements. We were fast Friday and Saturday. We may have had a bit of bad luck in the qualifying, which didn’t help our position on the track this Sunday. All things considered, there was certainly potential to do better. Nonetheless, we can leave Baku on a positive note. We are already looking forward to returning to Canada next weekend. Our objective is to continue scoring points.”

 

Fernando Alonso, started P10, finished P7:

 

“Today’s race was complicated, but we did well and I’m happy with seventh. We obviously benefited from a few retirements, but that happens, and we knew how to take advantage and leverage our strengths. I passed a few cars on my new tyres, and we were really fast down the straight. Our power unit seems solid and competitive, which is always good. We are on the heels of a good group of cars, and I’m expecting a similar experience in Canada. Let’s go and collect more points!”

 

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal:

 

“Today’s objective was to have two cars in the points, and we succeeded. Baku’s urban track presents a unique challenge to drivers and cars. We felt that, if both cars made it to the finish, we would be in the points. Our package had more potential this weekend. Esteban had a stroke of bad luck in qualifying, putting him a bit further back on the grid than we would have hoped. That said, both drivers ran a smart, calculated race to take points. We can take some delight in having seen them gain places and finish in the top ten. We will spend the next few days debriefing with the team, and we look forward to heading back to Montreal next week for the long-awaited return of the Canadian Grand Prix. We moved up to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, and we plan on advancing even further to fourth.”