Alonso ranks Alpine victory "more special" than Le Mans success
Alonso ranks Alpine victory "more special" than Le Mans success
Fernando Alonso has claimed Esteban Ocon's victory for Alpine at the Hungarian Grand Prix was "more special" than his successes in the World Endurance Championship.
Toyota finished one-two in seven of eight races during Alonso's time in WEC with the only exception being a disqualification for both cars at Silverstone.
Alonso and team-mates Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastian Buemi won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice in their five wins during the super season in 2018 and 2019 but ranked Alpine's one-four result in Hungary above this.
"This one is more special because it is unexpected," explained the Spaniard.
"We don't have the pace to win a race and you need very special circumstances. Those circumstances were there and the luck was on our side."
Alonso had played a crucial role in Ocon's victory, holding off championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the latter stages to halt his charge.
Asked how it felt to be a part of the win, he said: "It feels ok. Probably the last time was at Toyota where we were team-mates, we were winning with the Toyota #7 and Toyota #8."
Hungary a "lucky place" for Enstone outfit
With his victory, Ocon became the fifth driver to secure his first F1 victory at the Hungaroring after Damon Hil, Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen and Alonso himself.
The two-time champion became the then-youngest winner in F1 with the same Enstone outfit under the Renault name in 2003.
"[I am] very, very happy for them, a lot of smiles on everybody's faces and also for Esteban," added Alonso.
"When you are young and you win an F1 grand prix, you will stay forever as a grand prix winner.
"This happened in Hungary, same as in 2003 for me so this place is a lucky place for our team so happy for that."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Miami Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today
- 43 minutes ago
F1 rival makes stunning Hamilton 'best' claim despite poor form
- 1 hour ago
F1 star emerges as SHOCK target for Audi
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Horner BLAMED for Newey nightmare as ‘absolute b******s’ Red Bull claims slammed
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton F1 rival makes astonishing admission with Verstappen claim
- 3 hours ago
McLaren boss keen for stunning Alonso REUNION
- Today 10:57
Related news
Manufacturer gives UPDATE on controversial Verstappen award saga
Rosberg opens up on CURSE after jinxing two more drivers
F1 star admits he 'could've stayed in hotel' in STUNNING Hungarian GP revelation
Schumacher claims Perez's Red Bull days 'are numbered'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860