Jeremy Clarkson has delivered a fresh batch of beer to the Oxfordshire-based Alpine F1 team to celebrate their success in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

French drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished second and third respectively in a rain-soaked, chaotic and crash-strewn race in Sao Paulo.

The two drivers scored more than twice as many points as in all their previous 20 races. Alpine is based in Enstone. 

Mr Clarkson, who lives in nearby Chipping Norton, publicly stated after the race: "Brilliant work from Alpine in Brazil today.

"Fantastic result for the Chipping Norton people."

And this week he congratulated Mr Gasly in person when he turned up at the team's Enstone headquarters, a few miles from Diddly Squat Farm, with a sports car full of crates of Hawstone.

While inspecting cars in the team's HQ, he said: "While the entire Alpine team is distracted by their free Hawkstone beer I thought I'd give their car a new sponsor."

He said this while showing a Hawkstone/Back British Farming sticker to the cameras.

"However, 'what I've accidentally done I've brought a window sticker so it' won't stick down," he said, attempting to stick it on the car message side down," Mr Clarkson added.

"Sometimes you're not as clever as you think," said the camera operator. "There it is. The worst sponsorship in Formula One."

Team principal Oliver Oakes, who took over in August as Alpine's fifth boss in four years, said the Grand Prix result was a 'mega' achievement.

He said: "This team is a great team, it always has been."

The Renault-owned team has won championships as Benetton and Renault in the past.

"It's going to be a good winter now, this is what we need to get some momentum behind us," he said.