The Miami Grand Prix saw some thrilling battles take place on the track, although don’t ask Logan Sargeant how he feels about Kevin Magnussen.
In fact, it’s probably best to avoid asking several drivers on the grid about the Dane after he picked up penalty points in both races in Miami.
However, commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1, Martin Brundle wanted to highlight another driver’s antics in a battle with Mercedes driver George Russell.
The 26-year-old driver admitted after the race that he was ‘nowhere’ compared to his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
That meant he was battling several drivers further down the grid that he doesn’t normally come across, although that’s a sign of where the Mercedes is right now.
George Russell pitted just before the safety car leaving him in a battle with Alpine driver Esteban Ocon who had a great performance in Miami.
However, Brundle was left slightly surprised by the race the French driver approached his battle with Russell and tried to protect Alpine’s first points of the season.
READ MORE: Mercedes driver George Russell’s life outside F1 from net worth to height
Martin Brundle says Esteban Ocon ‘looked drunk’ in Miami battle with George Russell
While George Russell was left disappointed by one of his weakest performances of the season, Esteban Ocon was in a much better mood after the race.
Alpine delivered their first set of major upgrades to his car in China and they no longer look like the slowest car on the grid.
They’ve continued to make improvements to the weight of the car which was significantly above the weight limit heading into the season.
Pierre Gasly narrowly missed out on scoring Alpine’s first point in the Sprint Race, coming home in 9 place, several seconds ahead of Russell.
But it was Ocon who finally secured Alpine’s first top-ten finish this season in Miami and while his best battle of the race was with Fernando Alonso, he wasn’t messing around in trying to protect himself from an oncoming Russell.
He already left Martin Brundle absolutely stunned at the start of the race with his wheel-to-wheel battle with Gasly.
They both survived running side-by-side through the tightest part of the circuit on lap one and benefitted as a result in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.
READ MORE: Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Esteban Ocon slowly improving throughout 2024 F1 season
Watching the second half of the race unfold, Croft said: “This is George Russell heading past Esteban Ocon into turn one.”
Brundle replied: “The Alpine was moving around so much there it looked drunk, didn’t it? And George [Russell] sort of just imperiously wandered past him.”
Russell may have negotiated Ocon rather easily in Miami, but he didn’t make up any more places before the chequered flag.
Finishing behind Yuki Tsunoda’s RB will only amp up his frustration, with Mercedes in danger of drifting into Formula 1’s midfield rather than challenging the top three teams.
Esteban Ocon and Alpine will know they’re some way off joining that battle right now, but now appear to have an advantage over Williams and Sauber in terms of pace.
Russell and Ocon have worked together in the past having both come through the team’s junior program and could end up together again next year.
Ocon is one of the drivers Toto Wolff is reportedly considering to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025.
While he’s unlikely to be the first choice at this stage, a string of strong performances won’t do his chances any harm.
The post ‘Moving around so much’: Martin Brundle says 139-race driver ‘looked drunk’ in battle with George Russell appeared first on F1 Oversteer.