A Grand Prix strewn with pitfalls for Esteban Ocon

For a first Grand Prix contested at night, Esteban Ocon certainly did not expect to experience such a journey of the cross. The Norman, who celebrated his 20th birthday during the weekend, went through the Singapore test with difficulty.

Exited safely from the start, marked by the collision between Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) and Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), the German finishing his race after a few meters in the wall, Ocon was quickly penalized 5″ on his pit stop for overtaking under safety car regime.

"We need to look at this to understand exactly what happened, because Esteban was certain that he was in front of Nasr moments before the SC indication was shown » explains Dave Ryan, sporting director of Manor Racing.

A sanction observed during his first passage in the pitlane, which transformed into a new complicated episode, since a recalcitrant wheel nut caused the Frenchman to lose precious time.

« I wasted so much time and it was very frustrating because I couldn't do much, but only concentrate on the end of the race, specifies Ocon. Then there was a difficult second stop and it was hard to be so far away in the end. Even if I didn't have the opportunity to show our strengths here, it leaves me with some good memories, and especially the experience gained. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Singapore Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents, in AUTO issue 2081hebdo, available now in digital version, and on newsstands tomorrow.