Alpine driver Esteban Ocon made an impressive start to the 2021 season as he outperformed his teammate Fernando Alonso. He scored in four consecutive races from Imola to Monaco. Unfortunately, he failed to finish the race in Baku, and from there on, the Frenchman’s form only derailed.
Subsequently, he had an awful time at the Austrian Grand Prix and asked the team to give him a new chassis for the next race. Well, it seems like the new chassis paid off, as Ocon finished inside the points in Silverstone.
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Yes, I’m pretty sure we’ve solved the issue that we had: Esteban Ocon
Baku onwards, Ocon was being consistently outperformed by Alonso. While he still finished behind the Spaniard at the British GP, the chassis change certainly helped the Frenchman’s case.
As quoted by Autosport, he said, “Yes, I’m pretty sure we’ve solved the issue that we had.
“It’s not only a chassis change that we’ve done. There were a lot of things [in the] background and other paths that we changed. We spotted something after [Austria] on the Monday, and we questioned ourselves if that could be the reason.
“The only thing I care about is that, obviously, I feel good now. And as soon as we did go out with the car in practice one, it was competitive, like it should be. That was much better,” said Ocon.
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The Frenchman was doubting himself when he could not match Alonso
Ocon has revealed that he was doubting himself when he couldn’t match the speed of veteran teammate Alonso. However, the changes in the car and the following improvement in performance have helped him regaine his confidence.
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“We were a lot slower than the other side of the garage,” Ocon said. “The car was always capable of just being in Q3. That’s where we were supposed to be fighting.
“That hasn’t been the case for a long time. So I’m pretty sure we spotted what was wrong, and hopefully we can continue that run of scoring points like we were doing in the beginning of the year,” said the Alpine driver.
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With improvements in both his attitude and his car, Ocon looks set to catch up to his teammate soon.
Do you think the Frenchman will be able to outperform Alonso again? Let us know what you think.