"This is a moment of a lifetime": A visibly emotional Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon talk about what the podium means for them

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon recently talked about standing on the podium together in the 2024 F1 Brazilian GP. This was Alpine drivers' first podium in the 2024 season.

The race weekend at Interlagos was plagued by torrential rain, particularly after the sprint race. This forced the race stewards to postpone the qualifying session to Sunday. Every driver, including Gasly and Ocon, struggled to clock a fast lap in qualifying as the rain continued to pour. Gasly only managed to secure P15, while Ocon had a much better qualifying and secured P4.

At the start of the Brazilian GP, Gasly had a brilliant start and quickly went up to P9. Both he and Ocon stayed out in the early stint of the race while other drivers pitted for new tires. This allowed them to push forward. On Lap 30, Ocon and Gasly's decision to stay out worked out perfectly as Franco Colapinto crashed into the barriers and brought out a red flag, which gave them a free pitstop.

After the race restarted, Max Verstappen was sandwiched between Esteban Ocon who led the race, and third-placed Pierre Gasly. The reigning world champion took the lead and won the race, but Ocon managed to secure P2 and Gasly ended up in P3.

After the race, both Alpine drivers told Viaplay that they were unable to believe that they ended up on the podium together. They talked about their past rivalries and the surprise of driving alongside one another for the French team. While Gasly commented on their joint podium finish, Ocon was beside him smiling and nodding in agreement.

"This is a moment of a lifetime. As kids, from where we came from, to end up as teammates was against all odds. But to end up on the same podium on a season like this year. It's just incredible," Gasly said.

"For our story, nobody knows our story, its something that is personal to us, but regardless of everything that happened, on a day like today - it makes it very special and its a beautiful story," he added.

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Esteban Ocon was delighted to be able to race in the front after finishing P2 at the Brazilian GP

Esteban Ocon shared his feelings after finishing P2 in the 2024 F1 Brazilian GP. Speaking in the post-race press conference, he hilariously said that he smelled champagne, meaning it was not a dream.

Ocon was happy to race in the front of the grid with other top drivers and teams. He said that he and his team would try to take these opportunities whenever possible.

"I'm not sure that is a reality or still a dream. But I smell champagne, so I think it is reality," Ocon joked.

"But yeah, it's been an incredible day. Who would have thought, first of all, that we were going to qualify fourth, where we qualified. We were very, very quick as soon as these conditions pulled out today. It really levels out the field in here. And it feels great to be just able to fight with other cars, to fight with the guys that are at the front as well. And it shows that we’ve still got it," he went on.

After the Brazilian GP, Pierre Gasly stands in 12th place with 26 points, while Esteban Ocon is in 14th place with 23 points.