F1: Alpine's Esteban Ocon Breaks Formula 1 Record Held by Maldonado at the Austrian Grand Prix

With five recurrent violations lodged against him during and after Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon set a new record for getting the most penalties in a single Grand Prix. In Austria, eight drivers received time penalties for going too fast for the circuit, with Ocon suffering the most due to the accumulation of four distinct offences, adding 30 seconds to his final racing time. The Frenchman earned a penalty for an unsafe release as too, making this year's Bahrain Grand Prix the first time he has ever received more than three penalties in a Grand Prix. Five penalties for Ocon in one race is a current Formula One record, breaking Pastor Maldonado's previous best. The Venezuelan, who memorably came out of nowhere to win the Spanish Grand Prix for Williams in 2012, received three penalties in one race at the 2015 Hungarian GP. Ocon almost set a new record in Bahrain, but he was only penalised three times for different infractions.

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F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Aston Martin's Protest Leads to Penalties for Eight Drivers

The race outcomes of the Austrian Grand Prix were significantly altered as a consequence of a post-race protest filed by the Silverstone-based Aston Martin Formula 1 team. The FIA reported that an Aston Martin representative met with the stewards at about 6:30 pm local time. 

The stewards subsequently acknowledged that the complaint had been filed because many cars had been allowed to continue racing despite having violated Article 33.3 of the sporting regulations (by going beyond the track limits). The stewards have asked for a "reconciliation" between the laps that have been deleted and the laps that have been awarded as penalties. The FIA has issued further penalties to drivers including Sainz, Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries, and Yuki Tsunoda, who have all fallen in the standings as a result.

It took many hours after the chequered flag had flown before the official race result was revealed because so many cars had crossed the white lines around the Red Bull Ring. 

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F1: McLaren’s Austrian Grand Prix Performance Worries Alpine

Alpine had a rocky start to the season, but a podium result by Esteban Ocon in Monaco and a second-row starting position by Pierre Gasly in the next race in Spain indicated that they were geared up to challenge the front-runners. After an action-packed race at the Red Bull Ring, in which several drivers, including the two Alpines, received penalties for going too wide, Gasly was classified 10th and Ocon was relegated to 14th.

After the Austrian Grand Prix, Alpine driver Pierre Gasly was feeling conflicted. On the one hand, he had returned to the points-paying positions, but on the other, he was surprised by McLaren's rapid improvement. Ocon, on the other hand, had a "frustrating" day behind the wheel, highlighted by a near-collision with Williams' rookie Logan Sargeant in the pit lane that resulted in a five-second time penalty.

With 107 points separating them from fourth-placed Ferrari and 18 points separating them from McLaren, Alpine enters the British Grand Prix in fifth position in the constructors' standings.