Jeremy Clarkson Reveals Shock Visiting Alpine F1 Factory
When Esteban Ocon of the Alpine team managed to secure a podium place at the Monaco Grand Prix, a daring bet made by TV star Jeremy Clarkson suddenly became very real. The high-speed race had Clarkson, renowned for his roles on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, making a bold promise. He said he'd dish out a pint of beer to every member of the Alpine team if Ocon could secure a podium position for the Enstone-based crew. To everyone's surprise, Ocon delivered.
Recognizing his obligation, Clarkson, who is banned from the likes of India and two other countries, set out to fulfill his bet in quite a grand fashion. The Alpine factory's close location to his farm in the Cotswolds allowed him to personally deliver the beer. Riding his Lamborghini tractor, a familiar sight to fans of his hit show Clarkson’s Farm, he delivered not just any beer, but his very own Hawkstone Lager. This personal touch made the pay-off even more special.
Yet the monumental task was even more significant than Clarkson had anticipated. With almost a thousand members on the Alpine team, it turned out to be a large-scale beer distribution affair. Fortunately, Ocon was there to lend a hand in the exciting beer handout process.
In his column for The Sun, via Grand Tour Nation, Clarkson revisited the amusing bet:
“Halfway through the recent Monaco Grand Prix, I put out a tweet saying that if my local team, Alpine, finished on the podium, I’d give everyone on the team a pint of my Hawkstone lager. Well, their driver Esteban Ocon did finish on the podium, so I called to ask how many pints I should drop round to the factory. Fifty? A hundred? Nope. It’s just shy of a thousand.”