Ocon stopped by a new cooling problem at Renault

To Renault, the weeks follow one another… and are unfortunately similar in certain aspects. Esteban Ocon, who finished the first Grand Prix of his return to the peloton in eighth place, did not have as much success this Sunday for the Grand Prix of Styria.

Well qualified under the deluge, the Norman was unable to complete the event, slowed down by the same mechanical problem which had forced his teammate Daniel Ricciardo to set foot on the ground at the Austrian Grand Prix.

« We had a cooling problem with the car, explains Ocon. It's unfortunate, but these things happen in motorsport. We know we had a great opportunity today and it's frustrating to return to the garage for good when you're in such a position. Let's hope this doesn't happen again this year. »

A time in a fight with Ricciardo, but with a different strategy, the Frenchman was logically hoping for more of a race which however saw the RS 20s still a little soft against their so-called mid-grid rivals.

« Today, the emotions were much more painful with another abandonment for one of our cars for the same reason as last week, described Cyril Abiteboul, director of Renault Sport Racing.

We had put a lot of effort into returning the parts to enstone, examine them and bring them back on track, but it is obvious that we missed something.

This low level of reliability is obviously not acceptable in such a competitive peloton.. The race also showed that we need to find a little more pace against our direct competitors. »

Rivals including Racing Point, against whom Renault has filed a complaint for non-compliance with the FIA ​​sporting regulations. A case which may well cause ink to flow in the coming days.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Styrian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Spielberg, in issue 2269 of AUTOhebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.