A great comeback and a spectacular overtake: Ocon shone at Spa

“This might be the best weekend since I joined the team! ». At the finish of the Belgian Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon could not hide his joy. The Norman had a very good race on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Starting in 16th place after an engine penalty, the driver Alpine rose little by little to finally finish in 7th place. “It was fun, exclaimed Ocon in the mixed zone. I enjoyed the race today. The car was very fast in a straight line so I was able to manage the timing to overtake. From where we started, going P16 to P7... we expected maybe one point, and in the end, we got 6! This is a very good result for us. »

On a staggered strategy with two stops – on mediums then on hard and then on mediums to finish – Esteban Ocon managed his race perfectly. He was one of the only pilots to be able to overtake the “rocket” Albon and not to stay stuck for too long behind the Williams. With a Alpine very efficient on the Walloon route, the Frenchman felt at ease throughout the race. “It’s been our best weekend of the year so far. admitted Esteban Ocon. The developments that we made here, how the car behaved, there is nothing to see compared to where we were before, even in Budapest. I'm very impressed. There are still new things to come, so that gives us a big boost of confidence for the rest of the year. »

Ocon explains his double overtake on Gasly and Vettel

Coming out 9th after his second stop, Esteban Ocon especially stood out with a magnificent double overtaking on Pierre Gasly et Sebastian Vettel at the end of the Kemmel Straight. The main person concerned explains his point of view on his maneuver. “I spoke to Seb [Vettel] about it: I was thinking 'DRS detection is here' and he passed Pierre [Gasly] way too early, Vettel didn't have DRS. At that moment, I let off the accelerator a little [in Raidillon] to give myself a small gap and to then be able to use my speed as much as possible in a straight line. I had confirmation that Pierre had DRS. I was able to go to the left side and Seb was very clean, he could have closed the door on the left but he didn't. And I was able to overtake both of them on the outside. »

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Esteban Ocon therefore continues his series of points finishes, with a 4th consecutive top 10. Thanks to the Norman's points, combined with those of Fernando Alonso, Alpine gives itself a lead of 20 points over McLaren before Zandvoort. “It’s always good to have a little cushion in advance, a joker. McLaren remains dangerous, we know how quickly they can perform, and I am sure they will be back at Zandvoort. » Anyway, Alpine proved that, despite the turmoil of the summer, the French team was still present on the track.

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