Esteban Ocon takes stock of his start to the season with Alpine

Since his return to Formula 1 in 2016, Alpine ( Renault before) has continued to proclaim his desire to return to the summits. To rub shoulders with the upper echelons again, as it was able to do in 2005 and 2006. But since that day, the French team has continued to push back the deadline, year after year, race after race. However, this start of the season will have had the merit of redistributing the cards somewhat, and once again allowing us to believe in the rise ofAlpine towards podiums and victories in the coming years. For now, after five races in this new era of Formula 1, Esteban Ocon delivers its first conclusions, on its performances, like those ofAlpine.

“Physically and mentally, it’s very demanding”

After five Grands Prix, Alpine is not yet where she would like to be. At least being realistic – we’re not talking about podiums and victories. But although relegated to sixth place among manufacturers, more than twenty points behind McLaren, the French team showed good prospects, as evidenced by the pace displayed by the Blues in qualifying. What Esteban Ocon notes as the main asset of his Alpine :

“The very positive aspect of this start of the season is that we achieved very solid qualifying, He explains. In the first five races, we have already qualified in fifth position several times [Jeddah and Imola]. The car is fast on one lap, after the race, there is still work to keep our pace and especially our positions. We saw that there were very fast cars, like the Williams, even if it starts from further away. There are still quite a few things to learn. »

Source of all the frustrations, the reliability of the A522, which was especially lacking in Fernando Alonso at the start of the year.

“We had some reliability issues with the car, which impacted some of our results. Anyway, when there are new rules and big changes in concepts, it's somewhat normal to have some concerns. There's still some learning to do, even if at the moment, knock on wood, it hasn't hit me yet. »

But if these single-seaters stand out so much from its predecessors, it is because they confer certain advantages, such as the possibility of following a little more, and therefore of overtaking more frequently.

“On an emotional level, these races are quite interesting. Everyone follows each other, fights, it's much more intense than before. There is no longer really this factor which allows us to open up gaps in the fast parts, to have peace of mind for the rest of the route. You have to push constantly, otherwise you run the risk of being overtaken again. For now, this is one of the successes of this new rule. On a track like Barcelona, ​​we will see the progress that has been made.

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On the other hand, cars are not necessarily more pleasant than before. They are much more rigid, they jump a lot and are very stiff. During races, you have to push a lot harder. Physically and mentally, it is very demanding. Afterwards, it's true that when you start from afar, if you have the speed, you have the possibility of coming back. It brings back good memories of when we used to race karts. We're not at that level yet, but we're getting closer. »

If from an accounting point of view, the French team must still seek higher and more regular points, as Otmar Szafnauer reminded us ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, the Frenchman's start to the season is for the moment very interesting. Esteban Ocon, who has not yet been affected by bad luck with his Alpine, has a comfortable lead over his teammate – 24 to 2. But the season is still long, 17 of the 22 Grands Prix have not yet been run and he could, once again, shake up the established order.