Esteban Ocon finished in the points at Spa-Francorchamps for the fourth time in the 2024 Formula 1 season – but he is critical of the last stop
Esteban Ocon’s ninth place at Spa-Francorchamps was Alpine’s fourth points finish of the 2024 Formula 1 season. The Frenchman drove a solid race and was rewarded with ninth place after George Russell was disqualified. According to the 27-year-old, eighth place would even have been possible if the last stop had gone better.
“Every time I’ve worn the Deadpool helmet, I’ve achieved a good result, even if it wasn’t like fourth place in Las Vegas last year,” says Ocon. “We’ll take that with us, it was a positive race. The performance of the car was solid and we were able to duel with the others. We also improved continuously over the course of the race.”
However, the Frenchman from Ecvreux also criticized his Belgian Grand Prix. “That wasn’t the maximum,” he explains. “Before the last stop, we were four to six seconds ahead of Fernando [Alonso], after that he was about four seconds ahead of us. Unfortunately, the last stop cost us a lot of time.”
The race in Spa had a few surprises in store, as the new asphalt and high temperatures made for a strategy roulette. Many teams opted for just one stop. According to Ocon, Alpine had a flexible plan to react to such a situation. However, the racing team opted for a conservative strategy, which did not pay off in the end. “That was not the right [decision],” says Ocon.
The Frenchman also puts the brakes on euphoria: “We have to be careful and not read too much into the race.” Ocon explains that Alpine has achieved good results at Spa since 2020. Therefore, the race should not be taken as a benchmark for the second half of the season. “The next races will be more difficult,” predicts the Frenchman. “I hope I’m wrong.”
In the second half of the season, Ocon wants to continue to attack and collect important points. In the overall standings, the team is only seven points ahead of Williams and 16 points behind Haas. “We put in a solid performance, but were often not blessed with luck,” said Ocon. “I was good in qualifying, but in the race we had problems with tire wear and other things.”
Overall, Ocon is satisfied with his own performance. “I know what I need to focus on and we need to keep going to improve our pace for the second half of the season.” Ocon is 17th in the drivers’ standings with five points, while his team-mate is 15th with one more point