Ocon experienced the worst race of his career and hopes to see his true potential in Jeddah
Alpine had a mixed race in Bahrain. While Gasly had a great performance, Ocon, on the other hand, plummeted due to multiple penalties. The French team aims to redeem itself this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Starting ninth on the grid, nothing went according to plan for Esteban Ocon, who describes this Grand Prix as likely the worst race of his F1 career.
« It was probably the worst race of my Formula 1 career to date, considering how everything unfolded on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was compromised right from the start with the grid penalty, and from there, it all went downhill. The most important thing is to learn from our mistakes and ensure they don’t repeat. The team and I will progress together, which is why we are looking forward to the race in Jeddah. » he confides.
On his side, Pierre Gasly is happy with his race but does not hide a certain disappointment about the overall performance of his team.
“In general, I was quite satisfied [in Bahrain], especially on Sunday, moving from last to ninth place and bringing home some points. I know there is still a lot to do on my part and the team’s part, as we haven’t reached 100% yet,” he declares for the official Formula 1 website.
« That’s why we also left Bahrain with some disappointment, as not everything worked out and it’s important to put everything in place to ensure we achieve the best performance possible. I enjoyed my debut under the Alpine colors, the whole team is so talented and motivated to succeed, and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve when we execute a smoother race weekend. »
Correcting Bahrain’s errors
A smoother weekend. That’s exactly what Otmar Szafnauer, the team boss, wants just a few hours before flying off to Saudi Arabia for the second race of the season.
« It is important to remember that we are only in the first race of the season and we still have 22 to go. We have only completed one lap on a fully-capacity car, so there is much more to come and much more to learn and develop. Our race pace seems better than our lap pace, so we know that fuel reduction is a key point that we need to improve. Esteban did a good job to reach Q3, while Pierre still needs to learn how to get the tires in the right window to maximize performance in one lap. We will stick together and work hard as a team to climb higher on the grid, » says the boss of Alpine in a statement.
The Jeddah circuit is certainly exciting for the drivers. It is fast, there is little time to rest, it does not forgive in certain places, and it is probably the most thrilling street circuit on the calendar. It will be interesting to see the cars on a different circuit and see where we stand. Changes have been made to Jeddah this year to improve visibility for the drivers on the track, so it will be important to understand the drivers’ reactions to these changes.
I would like the team to have a good weekend, without any operational errors, and for both cars to be well placed in the points. The team is determined to have a much better race in Jeddah and it’s great to see everyone’s motivation to improve performance, he concluded.
