05/11/2024
NEWS STORY
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly may have delivered their team a $50m windfall after finishing second and third in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The 33 points the two Frenchman secured lifted their team from ninth in the constructor standings to sixth, three points clear of Haas and five ahead of RB and with this championship deciding the allocation of prize money if the Enstone-based team maintains this position it could be worth as much as $50m.
"We were slightly frustrated not to get both cars through to Q3 but they've more than made up for it now," said team boss Oliver Oakes who has only been with the French team for 16 weeks.
"This team is a great team, it always has been," he added of the former Benetton and Renault outfit which has witnessed great upheaval over the last couple of years. "It obviously had a tough start to the season, the last twelve to eighteen 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," he smiled, "this is what we need to get some momentum behind us."
"What a day that was," said Ocon, who heads to Haas next year. "After the difficult season, it's really nice to be driving around here and having the performance a bit levelled out in the rain.
"Someone very important to all of us said a long time ago that in the rain, the cars are almost equal," he added. "That phrase didn't age at all, and I'm very happy to be today on the podium. I think it's been awesome, and the support I receive here from all the Brazilian fans is incredible. I can't thank everyone enough.
"The car was extremely difficult in the dry," he admitted. "I felt that ease when it started to rain this morning, and last night I really wanted to get some laps in the rain. I really love it here when it rains. Today has brought a special race for us."
"Yesterday the pace in the dry was good, I finished seventh," added teammate Gasly, referring to the Sprint. "This morning we had a very poor qualifying, a couple of incidents, we didn't get a lap in Q2 so we started far back and managed to make ten positions.
"I'm absolutely buzzing right now!" he laughed. "I'm just so proud of the team. To overcome such a tough season. it would have been too easy to give up but we never gave up and here we are. Both cars P2 and P3, a lot of points for the team and everyone should be very proud today.
"It's incredible for the whole team. We've had such a tough season, we've struggled to score points. In these conditions everything was possible. 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 this season. It's just fantastic."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Sao Paulo here.