Ocon, Gasly hail ‘beautiful story’ of Alpine podiums

Childhood friends Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly both agreed it was a “beautiful story” to score a double podium for the Alpine team in Brazil.

Ocon and Gasly mastered the conditions at Interlagos to finish behind winner Max Verstappen, Alpine’s first double podium finish since Renault returned to the sport in 2017.

The French pair have known each other for a long time having karted together as kids before rising to F1 together.

In an interview with Dutch broadcaster ViaPlay, Gasly joined Ocon during his interview.

“You remember [in karting] when we were driving in the rain?” Ocon asked Gasly.

“Even in the snow! Same in the days when we were the only ones showing up at the track. But it’s all worth it,” Gasly said in response.

Ocon said the magnitude of what both had achieved only hit him when he was slowing down after crossing the finish line for the final time.

“It paid off and I tell you when we did that formation, on the in-lap, that was the first thing that came into my mind. What a beautiful story that is.”

The podium vaulted Alpine from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ championship standings, which could be worth an extra $50 million in prize money.

“This is a moment of a lifetime,” Gasly added in the ViaPlay interview. “As a kid, from where we came from, to end up as teammates was against all odds … but [also] to end up on the same podium on a season like this year. Because no-one thought we could have put a podium. In the way we did it just incredible.”

When Gasly joined Alpine ahead of last season, much was made of the rockier times in their friendship over recent seasons. The two drivers fell out as both made the Formula 1 grid but have since spoken about how old rifts have healed in recent years.

“For our story, nobody knows our story, it’s something that is personal to us,” Gasly added. “But regardless of everything that happened, on a day like today it makes it very special and it’s a beautiful story.”