At the Bahrain Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon was plagued with problems, although he progressed to the qualifying final on Saturday and started from 9th position. But in the second leg of the season, he hopes to start everything from the beginning and earn points.
Q: The start of the season in Bahrain did not go as expected – what impressions did the first race of the season leave?
Esteban Okon: It was probably the worst race of my entire F1 career given the way things turned out on Sunday. Unfortunately, the problems started from the start with the wrong position of the car on the grid and this is a violation. After that everything went downhill.
The most important thing now is to learn from our mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again. Together with the team I keep moving forward, so we are looking forward to the podium in Jeddah.
Pierre did a great job in the last race: although he started from the last row, he still earned his first points. I see a lot of positives in this as his result confirms the car’s potential, allowing it to break through the whole pack, making the A523 capable of a good pace.
It remains only to fully exploit this potential both on Saturday and Sunday. I think we’ll have a chance to recoup this weekend.
Q: What positive moments do you remember that will be helpful in the second leg of the season?
Esteban Okon: There are many such moments. I can say for myself that it was nice to start the season by going to the qualifying final. I think we can reach even higher speeds in one fast lap.
As I said, we have good race pace and the potential of the A523 allows us to expect both cars to finish in the top ten. That’s the target we’ve set for ourselves in Jeddah, the more I like this track, and in the past I’ve performed well there, including, including, I almost made the podium in 2021.
Let’s try to make this weekend go smoothly for me and my partner and leave Saudi Arabia with a result we can be proud of and deserve.
Q: What do you like most about the Jeddah Corniche Circuit?
Esteban Okon: Jeddah has a unique number. It’s very fast and has an organic configuration, and most of the circle there you have to go full throttle, which is very cool.
This year there have been some changes on track to improve safety and visibility, so of course during Friday practice we will understand how effective they are and share our impressions.
When it comes to Jeddah, we know there are overtaking opportunities, but the chance of a safety car is high given the track’s characteristics, so we have to anticipate all possible scenarios.
The whole team is ready and everyone is determined to work as hard as they can this weekend to give our season a fresh start.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
