Ocon not 'celebrating too hard' after 'only a top 10' finish in Miami

Esteban Ocon has cautioned against "celebrating too hard" despite picking up his first point of the season amid a disappointing start to the campaign for Alpine.

The 27-year-old was able to take P10 at the Miami Grand Prix, having qualified for the race in P13 - one spot behind team-mate Pierre Gasly. 

The pair enjoyed a spirited tussle on the opening lap, but managed to avoid coming to blows, allowing Ocon to help lift his team up to eighth in the constructors' standings, having started the race at the foot of the table.

Once the Frenchman settled into the race, he was able to work his way past those ahead to close out the points-paying positions, holding off Nico Hulkenberg in the latter stages. Meanwhile, Gasly finished where he started, behind the Haas, in P12.

"No, we don't want to be jumping around and be celebrating too hard - obviously, it's only a top 10," he told media including RacingNews365 after the result.

"But considering where we were a couple of races ago - in Bahrain, 19th and 20th - I think we can take the positives out of this race and [the] baby steps that we are doing at the moment."

'It feels good to come out of this weekend with some reward'

Despite Alpine finishing last year in sixth place, with a 120 points between Ocon and Gasly, a change in design philosophy over the winter saw the team plummet to the back of the pack at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

In the first five rounds, the best finish the pair could achieve was Ocon's P11 at the Chinese Grand Prix - something he was quick to highlight to media, given the recent improvements seen by the Enstone squad.

"That obviously feels good because the team kept motivated, kept trying to understand what is going on with our pace," Ocon said, reflecting on a challenging few races.

"It hasn't been the smoothest weekend, but it's two races that we come close to the points - 11th in Shanghai, today, we are inside the points.

"[It] definitely feels good to come out of this weekend with some reward."