Alonso on his defensive work: 'Hamilton always complains'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Esteban Ocon has driven superbly on his way to his first Grand Prix victory. For 70 laps Sebastian Vettel was breathing down his neck, but the Frenchman drove faultlessly to the finish. There he also had to thank his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Had the Spanish racing legend not defended so well against Lewis Hamilton, victory might have slipped out of his hands in the closing stages. Alonso really opened up his box of tricks in an attempt to keep the world champion behind.
This earned him criticism from Hamilton on the radio. According to the Brit, Alonso's driving was dangerous. Afterwards Alonso can only laugh about it. "He always complains," he says in front of the camera at Ziggo Sport. "I didn't hear anything from the FIA, so it was all okay I think."
Ocon has extra 'handicap'
Hamilton came within seconds of Ocon despite this tough fight with his old rival. So it's safe to say that Alonso saved the day for Alpine. But that doesn't take away from the fact that Ocon also drove a hell of a race. Especially when you consider that the life of an F1-driver is more challenging than for most other drivers.
"You can compare it to Mark Webber, who was my teammate at Red Bull," explains former F1 driver Robert Doornbos. "When he took off his shirt, you also thought, go and get a hamburger at McDonalds or something. He [Ocon] is almost 1 meter 90 and weighs less than 70 kilos. There is such a huge focus on weight, because weight is just a waste of time in Formula 1."