The race began favourably for the team with Esteban rising from sixth to fifth by the end of the opening lap and Pierre climbing two places from fifteenth to thirteenth. Pierre pitted early after finding himself stuck in traffic before a Safety Car two laps later prevented any hopes of leapfrogging cars ahead.
Esteban pitted under the Safety Car from fourth place, which benefitted the one-stop runners, notably both Ferraris and Sergio Perez in the Red Bull. From there, both drivers held position – Pierre pitting on lap 34 and Esteban lap 37 for Hards. Esteban was unable to pass Williams’ Alex Albon who was on a bold one-stop with Pierre narrowly short of the points at the chequered flag after pressuring a number of cars in front.
Esteban Ocon, started P6, finished P8:
“I think we can be satisfied with finishing another race in the points but we know that perhaps we did not maximise our opportunities today in Montréal. Our car and our pace was strong but, in the end, it was not enough to pass Alex [Albon] in the Williams, who was quicker on the straights. We’ll review everything as a team as to how we can improve and also how we can better seize opportunities on Sundays. Our pace in Qualifying has been good and we must continue that. I did enjoy the battles with Valtteri [Bottas] and Lando [Norris]; that was good fun! Overall, we have a lot to learn after a challenging weekend and I’m already looking forward to Austria in two weeks’ time.”
