(Motorsport-Total.com) – With 25 points from seven race weekends, Esteban Ocon currently sits ninth in the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship, his Alpine team is fifth in the constructors’ championship. Not enough in a season for which the French racing team had set itself the goal of regularly reaching the podium and climbing into the phalanx of the three best teams.
Esteban Ocon is satisfied: According to him, Alpine is on the rise
But at least the shape curve is slowly pointing up. While Ocon only got four points from the first four Grands Prix, in the last three it was 21. Above all, performances like in qualifying in Monaco, where he took third place on the grid, are proof that Alpine is on an uptrend.
Above all, the so-called “one-lap pace”, i.e. a fast lap in qualifying, has recently been “hugely” improved, says Ocon and adds: “We are now fighting for the top 5 places and we also have some for Canada”. Things on the car that should improve performance.”
“Now we have to look at the race pace and understand why we’re not as competitive on Sunday as we were on Saturday. Mercedes are the exact opposite of us. They don’t qualify so well, but they’re great. fast on Sunday.” “
“We have some ideas as to what could be the cause. Getting it right is yet another story. But we’re working on it and experimenting and overall it’s going in the right direction. I’m pretty sure we’re better on Sundays without sacrificing Saturdays. It’s a good time for us right now.”
A few weeks ago, the atmosphere in the team was completely different. In Baku, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi criticized his team for being “amateur” – a verbal boost that seems to have had its effect. Nevertheless, Alpine is still far from achieving its own goals for the season. Instead, Aston Martin took the role.
The next opponent on the way forward is called Ferrari. Ocon: “They’re still in front of us. But we’re closer, and that’s good. The whole peloton is tight. As I said, we’re a bit more behind on Sunday. But overall the progress is good , and if we can do that, if we can maintain the pace of development throughout the season, then we will catch up.”
The heart of our Friday F1 show is long-term analysis with Kevin Hermann. Is Mercedes really that fast at the Canadian Grand Prix?
to the video section
Alpine does not give up. At the Canadian Grand Prix, the next update awaits Ocon and teammate Pierre Gasly. Ocon confirms: “We have some interesting things on the car. I’m also curious to see what the weather will do. It will depend on whether we drive the new parts or not.”
The “porpoising” that was so annoying in 2022 is still happening, but has become “much less,” Ocon reports: “It’s not completely gone yet. But we’ve made great progress there too. good. We had that at Barcelona for example, not really a problem.” Unlike Mercedes, for example, at least in phases.
Now is the time to confirm the ascending form in Canada. On paper, a good base for Alpine. In 2022, Fernando Alonso nearly claimed pole position in a rainy qualifying session. And Ocon secured sixth place in the race. This is his third best result of the season.
“I think we had a very good car here last year. It was one of the weekends where we scored big points. I’m not saying it will be easy to perform well here. We’ll see how it goes.
Subtly charming explorer. Unable to type with boxing gloves on. Thinker. Twitter practitioner. Internet fanatic. Devoted music junkie.