Bahrain Grand Prix: no top 10 for Ocon but a positive race;
Starting from the back of the grid after a tricky qualifying session, Esteban Ocon was nevertheless able to climb back up the order, but still finished outside the points.
Esteban Ocon: 13th
Eliminated in Q1 on Saturday and starting in 16th position, the French driver expected a difficult race on Sunday, and it was not easy for him. After a relatively eventless start, Ocon took advantage of the pit stop sequence to gain a few positions, overtaking Russell early in the race.
His afternoon is marked by several overtakings, allowing him to fight with Vettel in the final laps. This battle reaches its peak when the four-time world champion hits the back of the Frenchman’s Alpine on the 45th lap, missing his braking point after initially being passed in the straight line by Ocon, causing a spin for the latter and damaging the front wing of his Aston Martin. The German will then complain on the radio about his counterpart, but he will end up apologizing to him at the end of the race.
Esteban Ocon: « our pace was good in the race »
The French driver came to speak to journalists after his race, he was happy with his performance: “It was a very positive race for me, and I had a lot of fun battling on the track with Yuki Tsunoda, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Seb Vettel, who actually came to apologize after hitting me in the final laps. I made many overtakes, which made me smile.”
The Norman, however, regrets his poor qualifying session: « We climbed back up after a delicate qualifying session, and I could have finished just outside the points without the race accident, but our pace was good so I am quite satisfied despite this 13th place.
He then admitted afterwards that his team has a lot of work to do this season: We were able to measure our weaknesses and strengths during this weekend, and we have quite a bit of work to do on the car. When we compare ourselves to AlphaTauri and its speed in certain corners, we realize that we still have a lot of work to do to improve the car.
Placing both of its cars outside of the points, after Fernando Alonso’s retirement due to brake issues, the French team will have to do better in the upcoming Grand Prix races, to prevent its midfield competitors from pulling away.
