Ocon hails ‘great recovery' for Haas as he rises from P17 on the grid to snatch final point in Austria

Esteban Ocon hailed Haas' "great recovery" as the Frenchman rose up from P17 on the grid to claim the final point on offer at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Ocon managed his strategy well in Spielberg, starting on the medium tyre before pitting early for a set of the hards, after a disappointing Qualifying left him towards the back of the grid.

He then ran a long second stint before bolting on more hard tyres, and just held onto the last points paying position, with his team mate Ollie Bearman backing him up in P11.

“I’m very happy, looking at where we were in Qualifying it’s a great recovery by the whole team,” said Ocon after the race. “We got a point for consolation but it means a lot as it shows we have a really good race car.

“We just need a bit more in Qualifying, trying to get a bit more performance. The car was very solid and reliable, and I thank the team for that – as we ended in the interesting positions at the end.

“It was tough racing out there today, how I like it, but it was a bit too tough perhaps because it could’ve cost us a lot more – but we should be pleased with the point.”

With hindsight, team boss Ayao Komatsu felt an opportunity was missed, with Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso both making a one-stop race work and both ending up heading the midfield.

“To get to P10 from P17 is positive – normally a very good result,” he explained. "What’s not as good is with Esteban I think we could’ve done even better.

“Esteban’s driving was really good, his first and second stints were so strong, I feel we may have pitted just a bit early on the first stop. That eliminated the chance to do a one-stop race with him which I think we could’ve done with his tyre management and pace.”

As for Bearman, despite starting ahead of his team mate in P15, he came home just behind him – although he was able to act as a buffer for Ocon in the closing stages.

“We really struggled in the middle stint and that’s where my race came undone,” he explained afterwards. "The final run was a bit better but I had to go quite early onto the mediums, so it was another long stint.”

While the team were happy with their recovery, Haas saw plenty of their midfield rivals score big in Austria – with Aston Martin just one point back thanks to Alonso’s seventh, while Kick Sauber are now three points back after a double points finish.