Formula 1 | Ocon: Being last with Alpine F1 is ‘different’ than being with Manor

Esteban Ocon does not want to compare Alpine F1’s last place in Bahrain with his debut in Formula 1 at Manor, in a team at the back of the grid. The Frenchman wants to be confident about the future in the French team.

“I think the situation is different” Okon said. “Of course we share the same positions on the grid at the moment, but it’s still only the first race. With Manor we were a long way from the cars in front of us.”

“Here, with tenth place we can gain a few places. That’s the difference. We’re much closer to the back than in 2016, where we were four seconds behind. It’s a different situation and there’s a way to improve here, which was. The former is not the case.”

He hopes Jeddah will be more alpine-friendly than Bahrain, whose characteristics have heavily penalized the A524. The question is how far Alpine will go.

“I think in Bahrain we did too much with what we had. We need to see where it is. The car was better here than in Bahrain last year. We were doing better. We finished sixth last year. Qualified for.”

“Of course, I don’t want to say I’m going to qualify sixth this year, but hopefully we’ll be a little bit closer to the pack than we were in Bahrain. We’ll hopefully be able to get a little bit higher. That’s. the goal. Do we Going to get there? We don’t know, but that’s what we’re aiming for.”

The lack of traction that plagued the Alpine in Bahrain should in any case be less of a problem this weekend: “It’s a good point. We’ll see where it takes us. It’s a circuit I really like.”

“I almost got to the podium. I always finished in the points. I’m looking forward to riding this circuit and having fun. First of all, I think that’s why we’re here. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do. Can’t wait. Do.”