Belgian GP: an 8th place which “saves the weekend” from Ocon, “a frustrating afternoon” for Gasly

Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine), 8th in the Belgian GP:

"My weekend couldn't have ended better. From where we started in 14th, we flew over the peloton, a bit like last year: rear start, lots of fights. I really enjoyed this race, it was very fun (...). I had a lot of good battles and a lot of fun. It's good that it saved our weekend because Friday and Saturday things didn't go as planned. There is no better way to go on vacation now (...) I hope this will encourage everyone in Viry (-Châtillon) and Enstone (where the Alpine chassis and engines are made, editor's note ) because as you can see, when you make improvements, it works”.

Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine), 11th GP:

“It's been a frustrating afternoon where we haven't scored any points. I got off to a good start in turn 1, then in turn 2, gaining a few positions. I was unlucky with Oscar (Piastri, victim of a collision with Carlos Sainz, editor's note) whose car was damaged and who was therefore slow in Eau Rouge. I got stuck behind him with a number of cars passing me. This complicated things for us by forcing us to catch up before seeing if we could extend our first stint on soft as the rain threatened. It didn't rain hard enough, so we went through just one stop and eventually finished just outside the Top 10. Some action was fun, but we lacked a bit of power that we need to find”.