Ocon bemoans Alpine reliability after birthday retirement

Esteban Ocon has bemoaned the latest reliability issue to hit Alpine, after he dropped out of the points during the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Frenchman was in sixth in the final 20 laps of the race and defending from Fernando Alonso, when he stopped on track at Turn 2 with the A523 stuck in sixth gear having suffered from an hydraulic issue.

His stoppage turned out to be a pivotal moment for the leaders, as it brought out the Virtual Safety Car which enabled Mercedes to gamble on its tyre strategy and snatch the final podium after a charge by George Russell - before his crash - and Lewis Hamilton.

But for Ocon, on the occasion of his 27th birthday, his race had come to a premature end for the second time in a row and fifth time in the season.

Ocon: We did everything right

"[I am] very disappointed but these things happen in motorsport," Ocon told F1TV.

"We broke the gearbox after running in a very strong position.

"We did everything right, holding off Red Bull cars, fighting with Fernando [Alonso], fighting with Kevin [Magnussen], we gained positions and it was amazing.

"It's been a strong weekend overall, on a track that I am not the biggest fan of that I found issues in the past. I think it's becoming one of my favourites."