Ocon: “It’s a big step forward”

Si Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) distinguished himself by winning the 100th pole of his career, Esteban Ocon (Alpine) for his part made an impression by placing his A521 in 5th position in the qualifying session.

« It is most encouraging, he admitted. This confirms the intentions we had when arriving here after Portimão where the car had worked very well.

Barcelona is a track that everyone knows very well. We continued to find small improvements to the car throughout the three testing sessions. It's nice to see that it's working the way we wanted it to. We had a good pace which allowed us to be in the Top 5 this Saturday ».

Although he does not believe he has made any big changes compared to 2020, the native of Évreux still evokes a different way of working which is now bearing fruit.

« I haven't changed a lot from last year. It is true that we have a different approach. We take advantage of our experience with the car to deliver solid performances during race weekends.

My team and I returned to the factory between the two Grands Prix to prepare as well as possible. No one rested. We have made progress in the choice of settings. It works well and it allows me to be more comfortable compared to last year ».

Sixth in Portugal and fifth in Spain, Esteban Ocon once again confirms thatAlpine going in the right direction after a lackluster start to the year. He hopes to take advantage of the good momentum to allow his team to get closer to the leading pack.

« This is a big step forward. We are getting closer to where we want to be. I go from P15 to P5 in qualifying here compared to last year. There is real progress with a car which was not very efficient at the start of the season. If we do a good job we can fight for this place for the rest of the campaign. It's tight, it won't be easy but that's the goal we have in mind ».