Ocon Reflects on Challenging Friday in Australia: “We Need to Smooth Everything Together”
Esteban Ocon admits Alpine’s first day on track in Australia was far from ideal, as the Frenchman and his team grappled with a series of difficulties in practice ahead of the Grand Prix.
“It’s still very early days,” Ocon said after Friday’s sessions. “Of course, it wasn’t the smoothest day for us. We’ve had quite a few difficulties in some areas, and we need to smooth that all together.”
Alpine made significant setup changes between the two practice sessions, but Ocon noted that the team was still not fully satisfied with the car’s performance. “There’s a lot for us to test. We completely changed the car from P1 to P2. There are still some readings that we’re not happy with in P2, so we’ve lost a little bit of time in some sessions. We also didn’t get the full running with the two cars to be able to compare both setups in general.”
Despite the setbacks, Ocon was not overly concerned, recognizing that challenges are to be expected at the start of the season. “It hasn’t been the smoothest day because it’s the first Friday of the year, so that’s pretty normal. We need to keep working and hopefully try to find some pace. But yeah, it was a difficult day for us.”
Some observers speculated whether Haas’s focus on high-fuel runs during pre-season testing left them playing catch-up. Ocon, however, defended the team’s approach. “No, no, the decision to do that in high fuel in Bahrain was the correct one. This is what the team decided to do, and they’ve done a year ago. Now we’re in Australia, we are doing the normal run plan like everyone else. So, we just need to do a better job than what we did today and keep going.”
One positive takeaway for Ocon was the improvement from the first session to the second. “We did a really good step from P1 to P2. It still doesn’t look shiny on the timing page—that’s very true. But the car improved quite well from P1 to P2, though there are still some things that we know we can find. There’s definitely margin for us to improve, and we’re going to give it our max to do that.”
When asked whether Haas had been too conservative in their approach, Ocon disagreed. “I wouldn’t say that. There’s a big learning curve for us, and today we’ve probably learned even more than in the three days of testing.”
His teammate, Oliver Bearman, endured a difficult day with limited running, but Ocon praised his efforts. “I don’t need to do anything for him, really. Even though he’s very young, he’s very experienced. He pushed hard, the guy was quick, he was right on pace. He’ll be back tomorrow, and I’m sure we’ll have no issues.”
Ocon was also taken aback by the large performance gap between Haas and their competitors on Friday. “I know that we are not using the best of the car yet, that’s clear. But yeah, it was a bit surprising to see us that far today. We need to try to do the best we can.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, where rain is expected, Ocon said there would be little room for drastic setup changes. “Most of the teams are quite high in terms of downforce here, so there’s not much that you can put on… So, we’ll just go with what we have and figure out how to drive it best in the rain.”
As Haas continues to search for answers, Ocon remains focused on making progress through the weekend, hoping to unlock more performance for his new team.
