Okon: This stage will remain in my memory forever

Esteban Ocon was happy to finish second in Sao Paulo…

Question: Esteban, great day for Alpine, you are very fast today. What does this second place mean to you?
Esteban Ocon: I can’t believe this is reality, but I smell champagne, which means everything really happened.

Incredible day! Who would have thought I would qualify fourth and finish second. We were very fast on the wet track; the rain balanced the balance of power. It’s great that we were able to fight with the strongest, it shows that we also have strength, and when an opportunity arises, we are ready to take advantage of it.

At one point I was leading the race. It was incredible. On the first restart I broke away from Max, initially everything went fine. Then Max took the lead, but he was faster. It’s good that after several failed races, in which everything went wrong for us, we were able to achieve success. This clearly shows that we still have strength when it comes not only to the car, but also to driving.

Question: Have you had confidence in the car on a wet track all season, or does this only apply to the Interlagos circuit?
Esteban Ocon: Usually we perform better in the rain, although it happens the other way around. It’s absolutely great that we could organize a race like this. The team carefully chose the strategy and installed the right tires. When everyone is on an equal footing, we join the fight.

Question: Esteban, your career on this team will end soon. What does it mean to you to end it with such a result?
Esteban Ocon: There are three more races scheduled for Alpine. But I’m glad it ends this way. Behind us are five years of successes and failures, good and not so good moments. Today I am proud of myself and Pierre.

On the lap back to the pits after the finish I remembered a lot. About how in our childhood we raced go-karts on a wet track, even in the snow on slippery tires, we trained together, together we dreamed of podiums and victories. And today we achieved success together. This will remain in my memory forever.

Question: Over the weekend many people complained about the coverage on Interlagos. Has the driving behavior become better or worse after two days of rain, or has nothing changed?
Esteban Ocon: In fact, the grip is not bad, the problem is the imperfections, the bumps that we would not have paid attention to three or four years ago. But today’s cars drive very low, we feel all the bumps with our body. In terms of grip on the track it has become much better than it was, now we have to get rid of these bumps.