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A red flag incident in the first lap caused the FIA to announce a standing restart with the grid reset to its original positions, and those unable to continue removed. Esteban Ocon had been caught up in the incident and had sustained damage to his A522 but managed to take the car home during the 45 minute red flag period so that necessary repairs could be made.
Both drivers then pushed hard in the first few laps with Alonso in 6th and Ocon in 7th by the 11th lap. Alonso continued on Mediums until lap 33, where he opted for Hards, whilst Ocon pitted for Hards on lap 22 before later retiring from the race due to a suspected fuel pump issue. At this point Alonso took advantage and pitted for Softs which allowed him to pass Norris, who left his stop one lap later. The final flurry of laps saw Alonso well in the mix for a podium position against a number of competitors before settling for a 5th place past the flag.
He was happy once the race was over, adding “It was a fun race today and we are happy to finish in fifth position. I was hoping there would be some drama at the end, and we might have sneaked a podium with all of the action, but it was fun to be fighting amongst it inside the top five places.”
Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal said: “We leave here with ten points, a strong haul, and we’re looking forward to going to Austria this week ready to score double points.”
The team moves into the Austrian Grand Prix this coming weekend, 8th-10th July, still in 5th place but with a closer gap of 6 points between them and 4th place McLaren.
