Esteban Ocon at the end of the Australian Grand Prix: « Points were possible

For the first time qualified in Q2 this season, Esteban Ocon had some ambitions for the Grand Prix. With an Alpine car that is struggling, he hoped to score the first points for the French team in 2024.

A Grand Prix quickly compromised

His departure was complicated. On the very slippery track in Melbourne, he lost a position at the first corner to Nico Hülkenberg. He quickly reacted before the end of the first lap to regain his initial position.

He started on medium tires, then pitted on the tenth lap to switch to hard tires. Just 7 laps later, he was forced to stop again due to a tear-off stuck in the caliper of his right rear brake. This even caused a small fire. A recurring issue in Melbourne, following Max Verstappen’s retirement, also due to a brake problem but of a different nature.

« Today, we had a chance

Esteban Ocon reacted after the race, speaking to Canal Plus microphone:

« Points were possible today. Before the pit stop (the second one), I was ahead of Magnussen and battling with Albon. It would have been a fight for positions 9, 10, 11. So I’m disappointed, for sure. I think today we had a chance. That’s how it goes, it’s just bad luck. We’ll go back for the next one.

After this second pit stop, the Alpine driver found himself second to last, with no hope of a good result in Australia. Bottas, who was last, overtook him one lap later. This was followed by a long Grand Prix at the back of the pack, finishing in last position.

Esteban Ocon hopes for a little more success at the next Grand Prix in Japan in two weeks. And also a slightly more performant car: « There will be some new features, then we will have to see how much it actually brings in terms of performance. We are following the development plan that has been planned for a while. »