Alpine’s struggles this season have been well documented
and, while on paper their race in Australia looked like more of the same
disappointment towards the back of the field, there was actually plenty of
cause for optimism – at least on
Esteban Ocon’s side of the garage, despite him
coming home 16th.
The Frenchman had made it out of Q1 for the first time this
season on Saturday, before competing with his midfield rivals for the opening
stint of the race – until a helmet tear-off got lodged in his brake duct,
forcing an extra pit stop that wrecked his strategy.
HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the action from a dramatic Australian
Grand Prix as Sainz wins while Verstappen retires
It’s an issue that could have affected any driver on the
grid, and in Melbourne, it just happened to be Ocon who fell foul of the small
strip of plastic.
“It’s an unfortunate race as I’m the only one to do the
three stops today because of that issue and we were running on for possible
points today,” Ocon said after the race.
