Alonso “incredible” in F1 defense against Hamilton

Ocon took the lead after a chaotic, wet opening lap and a restart in which front runner Hamilton was the only driver not to pit for slicks.

Hamilton paid a price for it by running in on green conditions on the next lap, leaving him behind in order while Ocon secured an unlikely lead.

While Ocon successfully defended his first Grand Prix lead against Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Alpine’s real threat came from behind as Hamilton climbed the rankings.

But the Mercedes driver’s comeback was slowed down by Ocon’s teammate Alonso, who showed a defensive masterclass to keep Hamilton from finishing fourth for 11 laps.

Alonso thus eliminated the world champion’s chances of eventually overtaking Ocon as he settled for third place on the road, who later finished second when Vettel was disqualified for a fuel violation.

Ocon praised Alonso’s role in his first F1 win and Alpine also praised the 40-year-old Spaniard for his part in the Enstone team’s first win in his new guise.

“[Alonso was] unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, “said Alpines sporting director Alan Permane.” To be honest, he’s happy for us, he’s happy for Esteban, but I know he’s frustrated because he wants to win. “

Permane acknowledged that Alonso’s work in stopping Hamilton was crucial as the Spaniard defended brilliantly, particularly fast forwarding into Turns 4 and 5 until a lock at Turn 1 let Hamilton pass.

“100%. Undoubtedly crucial,” said Permane. “I think it was 11 rounds.

“If he’d got past him on the first lap the way he’d gotten past Carlos.” [Sainz, ahead of Alonso in third] Lewis would have been there the first time.

“I think what we would have done would be to just go back a bit, give Seb the DRS and protect it a bit, but I don’t know if we would have stopped him.”

Also read:

Alonso said he was aware of the racing situation by looking at the big screens around the track and didn’t need Alpine to tell him how crucial it was to delay Hamilton’s rise to the ranks.

“No, the team didn’t tell me anything, but I more or less knew what the racing situation was like,” he explained. “I looked at the biggest screens, I knew Esteban and Vettel were fighting, and they were like two corners in front of us.

“With 20 laps to the end and Lewis coming two or three seconds faster, that was probably enough to win the race, so I knew I could keep him behind me every lap, that was gold for Esteban’s win. “