Esteban Ocon sends cheeky message to Mercedes after photo finish in Austrian GP Sprint Race

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Alpine driver Esteban Ocon sent a cheeky message to the Mercedes F1 team after the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Race.

Mercedes took to Instagram after the conclusion of Saturday’s Sprint Race.

It was the second short-form even of the season and saw Max Verstappen once again occupy the top step of the podium.

There was a brief hope that he might be joined by an unfamiliar face.

Haas F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg had an incredible qualifying session, starting in fourth, before quickly climbing to second.

However, it didn’t last and despite some rain make the race more exciting, Verstappen was joined in the top three by teammate Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.

As mentioned, rain with ten laps to go gave the teams a difficult decision to make.

Mercedes put George Russell on the slick tyres after a disappointing qualifying and he raced through the pack.

The Mercedes driver was neck-and-neck with Esteban Ocon going over the line, but the Frenchman pipped the Brit in the Austrian Sprint Race.

The 26-year-old couldn’t help but comment on the German team’s Instagram after the race.

Ocon comments on Mercedes Instagram after Austrian Sprint Race

Taking to social media, Mercedes posted a photo of the two cars crossing the line on Saturday.

It was accompanied by the caption: “What 0.009 seconds looks like at 280 kph.”

Ocon couldn’t help himself and replied with a pinching emoji to signify how close Russell was to overtaking him.

After a shaky start to the season, Ocon’s fortunes have improved recently.

A podium in Monaco has been the highlight of his campaign so far, but he’s now consistently scoring points.

He already has double the total of new teammate Pierre Gasly who is no slouch either.

Mercedes had a torrid Austrian Sprint Race, and would have wished Russell could have reach Ocon just millimetres sooner.

They’ll be hoping Sunday’s race goes better, especially with more points at stake.