Esteban Ocon: ” a missed opportunity this weekend” despite two points scored
Tenth at the finish of Sunday's Grand Prix, then ninth a few hours later after George Russell's disqualification, the driver from Normandy regrets the team's strategy, on a weekend when the car seemed very fast.
During a difficult weekend marked by the announcement of Bruno Famin’s departure, director of the Alpine team, who will leave his position at the end of August to focus on other projects at the Viry-Châtillon factory, Esteban Ocon achieved his best result of the year. This result came after the disqualification of George Russell, whose car was deemed non-compliant with the regulations. However, this success is tinged with frustration for the French driver, who believes that the strategy could have been better optimized.
« This has always been a circuit where we were normally faster than the rest of the season, so of course, I am a little disappointed to only score one point. Before our final pit stop, we were eight seconds ahead of Fernando [Alonso]. We should have scored more points, finishing eighth or ninth was possible. It’s a missed opportunity, » Ocon explained on Canal+ microphone.
The winner of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix laments a poorly managed end of the race by his team, which kept him on a two-stop strategy, costing him a position. Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, opted for a one-stop strategy, which was more rewarding. After his second stop on the 31st lap, Ocon came out in 14th position, losing valuable time behind some drivers. He ultimately finished just three seconds behind Alonso, thus missing an opportunity to score more points.
Unfortunately, bad strategic decisions are piling up for Alpine this season, in a crucial battle to distance themselves from Williams, who could capitalize on their straight-line speed to score additional points at Zandvoort and Monza. This result is even more disappointing considering that the Enstone team had a competitive car this weekend, managing to get one of their two drivers into Q3.
« We had good speed, that’s the positive point of the day. It’s a shame not to maximize a good result with a good race, » said Ocon. For Alpine, it is now crucial to study the data to find more performance and to discuss among all those responsible in order to optimize the upcoming race weekends.
Intense work awaits the French team during the summer break. By focusing on data analysis and improving strategy, Alpine hopes to maximize its performance for the remainder of the season.
