Esteban Ocon remains optimistic about Alpine’s 2022 F1 chances

Esteban Ocon remains optimistic about Alpine’s 2022 F1 chances

Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon is one of the most talented drivers on the F1 circuit. The Frenchman lived up to his expectations this year, as he did a stellar job in a poorly developed car. Ocon finished 11th in the drivers championship, behind his teammate, Fernando Alonso who came in 10th.

Esteban Ocon’s best result came at the Hungarian GP, where he claimed an unlikely victory. He missed out on a podium finish in Saudi Arabia by the barest of margins, as Valtteri Bottas surpassed him right on the finishing line.

With a strong finish to the 2021 season, Esteban Ocon remains optimistic about Alpine’s chances for the 2022 season. The Frenchman stated that the car had developed well during the latter stages of the season, and the team have made progress as a whole.

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“I think [the team have made] huge progress. Everything we did inside [the team], operationally, taking strategy decisions, looking after the tyres, looking after the car itself, and getting the maximum out of it,” said Ocon.

Esteban Ocon believes Alpine did not have a good package in 2021

Esteban Ocon wins Hungarian Grand Prix
Esteban Ocon won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Esteban Ocon believes that he was happy with his performance, given that the car did not have a better package as compared to last year. The Frenchman pointed out to the fact that they had their fair share of issues earlier, but they have managed to work them out for the better.

“I think it’s been huge progress, and I’m very pleased that we’ve done that this year. Of course, we got two podiums, almost three, this season for the team, with a car that didn’t perform as good as last year. I think we had not as good of a package,” said Ocon.

“But we’ve still managed to overcome these issues, get on top of it, and still score very decent results,” he added.

Overall, Alpine managed to secure two podiums this season, with Fernando Alonso also finishing P3 in Qatar. It was Alonso’s first podium finish since 2014, where he was still driving for Ferrari. With newer regulations coming into effect from 2022, the future looks brighter for all mid-table teams.

Also Read: Gaps between teams will be closed down faster in 2022: Stefano Domenicali