Motor racing-Bingo! Alpine hit the jackpot in Brazil
SAO PAULO, Nov 3 (Reuters) -Alpine hit a possible $50-million jackpot in Brazil on Sunday with French pair Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing second and third respectively to rescue the Renault-owned Formula One team's season.
In one rain-soaked, chaotic and crash-strewn afternoon at Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit the two drivers scored more than twice as many points as in all their previous 20 races.
"We have struggled to score points and in these conditions everything was possible," said Gasly, who also scored two points with seventh in the Saturday sprint.
"No-one believed it until the end. Two cars on the podium. I don’t think anyone would have got that on their bingo card ahead of the season."
Sunday's 33-point haul boosted Alpine's tally to 49 points and lifted them from ninth to sixth place, three points clear of U.S.-owned Haas and five ahead of Red Bull's RB.
With the constructors' championship determining the share-out of prize money among the 10 teams, pundits suggested the difference would be as much as $50 million if Alpine can maintain their position for three more races.
The joy and relief was evident as mechanics and engineers celebrated in the pitlane.
Ocon,who is leaving for Haas at the end of the year, celebrated his best result since he won in Hungary in 2021.
"What a day that was after a difficult season,"he said. "It's really nice to be driving around here and having the performance a bit levelled out in the rain.
"The car was extremely difficult on the dry and really I felt at ease when it started to rain this morning... I love it here when it rains. Today has brought a special race for us."
Team principal Oliver Oakes, the 36-year-old who took over in August as Alpine's fifth boss in four years, said it was a 'mega' achievement after Ocon had qualified fourth and Gasly 15th.
"We were slightly frustrated not to get both cars through to Q3 (the final phase of qualifying) but they've more than made up for it now," he said.
"This team is a great team, it always has been," he said of the Enstone-based outfit that won championships as Benetton and Renault in the past.
"It obviously had a tough start to the season, the last 12-18 months weren't what the team's all about. But honestly I can say since I arrived it's been so strong, you can see the spirit in the team.
"It's going to be a good winter now, this is what we need to get some momentum behind us."
Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon
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