Esteban Ocon estimated he cost Sergio Perez up to 2.5 seconds as he played his part in helping team-mate Fernando Alonso to a podium finish in Qatar.

Alonso urged his team-mate to “defend like a lion” as he tried his damnedest to make a one-stop strategy work at a brutal Losail International circuit and Ocon duly obliged, returning the favour after the two-time World Champion helped cause enough disruption to see Ocon win the Hungarian Grand Prix back in August.

The Spaniard, who ended a seven-year wait to return to the podium in Formula 1, needed Ocon to life difficult for the advancing Perez in the Red Bull, who was desperately trying to make up places following a poor qualifying and a less than optimal race strategy.

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