Alpine reveal fire cause as Ocon PU changed

Esteban Ocon has avoided a grid penalty despite Alpine being forced to change his power unit after a fire on Saturday.

The Frenchman finished 18th in the sprint but was promoted a position after a team-mate Fernando Alonso was hit with a time penalty for lap-one contact between the pair.

However, Ocon's grid position came into severe doubt after his A522 caught fire in parc fermé.

Although initially reported as a brake fire, the team has now confirmed the true cause as a fuel leak.

As a result, the team had no option but to fit a different power unit into his car for Sunday's race. But a grid penalty has been avoided given the team has taken a unit that was already in his pool for the season.

"As a result of the fuel leak on Esteban's car after Saturday's Sprint Qualifying and the subsequent damage caused by the fire - the team has changed his PU for today's race from his pool," said Alpine.

"This means he will not take a grid penalty and will start today's race from seventeenth place. The damaged parts on the chassis have also been replaced."

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