11 Months After Masterful Exploits in Max Verstappen’s Backyard, Esteban Ocon Sharpens His Weapons in Hopes of an Encore

The Red Bull Ring—it’s one of the shortest tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, but one of the best ones for racing. Also, a favorite among drivers. A whale-like looking track, with all its glorious 10 corners and elevation changes, has given the F1 community some great battles over the years, and the drivers seem to enjoy it as much. And one driver is particularly looking forward to the weekend to come to Austria. Who is it? Esteban Ocon.

After testing out the sprint format in Austria last year, F1 decided to bring it back this year, owing to the exciting racing. But after the format changes, the drivers get only one practice session before qualifying for the race on Friday, with the entirety of Saturday dedicated to the Sprint. Ocon had a memorable weekend in Spielberg last time out, and aware of the challenge ahead, he hopes to recreate his result.

The Austrian experience is beckoning Esteban Ocon

The F1 community reaped the rewards of the 2022 regulation changes at the Austrian GP last year when almost every one of the 71 racing laps plus the 23 laps of the Sprint witnessed close-quarters racing. After qualifying P5 for the Sprint and finishing P6, Esteban Ocon set himself up for a good result in the main race. Taking advantage of the Alpine race pace there, he maximized the car’s potential and finished fifth. While talking about the upcoming weekend at the venue this weekend, he said, as quoted by Formulapassion.it, “It’s nice to go back to Spielberg. Last year I got a good result, let’s hope we have another good weekend like that.” Considering he’s already achieved a podium this year, he wouldn’t mind another one in Austria.

As much as the drivers love the track, it is also tough on them with its tight corners and elevation changes. Ocon explained, “[The track] presents some interesting challenges , with the tight low-speed corners contrasting with the faster inside corners at Turns 6 and 7. In addition, the significant elevation changes add an extra challenge to the tighter corners and make some braking areas difficult.”

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Given the sprint weekend, the extra laps of racing, and more possibilities to score points, Ocon is looking forward to continuing his streak of point finishes (going on five) and a good result for the team to close the gap to Ferrari in P4. Talking of the team, his teammate is as excited as he is.

Pierre Gasly looks to get back the points-scoring momentum

The first sprint weekend of 2023 took place at the Azerbaijan GP, and the weekend was a particularly messy one for Pierre Gasly. With an engine issue in FP3, a crash in qualifying, an SQ1 exit in the Sprint Shootout, and a P13 finish in the Sprint, the main race wasn’t any better. After starting P17, he only managed a P14. Needless to say, he wants to make amends.

With the sprint weekend incoming, Gasly said, “We have some unfinished business after the disappointment in Baku, and I feel ready for Austria this weekend.” Like his teammate, he too aims to capitalize on the extra opportunities to gather points and get back into the groove of points finishes. After attending a Coldplay concert and unwinding during the two-week break before Austria, he is ready to get back on track.

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Will Esteban Ocon achieve another top-five finish in Austria? And will he be able to recreate his Monaco miracle to achieve another podium?