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Esteban Ocon
- Team Alpine
- Nation France
- Date of birth 17/09/1996
- Place of birth Evreux, France
- Debut Belgium, 2016 (Manor)
How did Esteban Ocon feel about 2023, a season where he experienced one of his biggest highs (a podium in Monaco) but endured an equal grid-worst seven non-finishes (along with Logan Sargeant)?
“Not the happiest,” he admitted after the season wrapped in Abu Dhabi with his lowest world championship finish (12th) in four years. “Not consistent enough, and too many DNFs.”
It’s been four years for Ocon at Alpine (nee Renault) now, and he’s shown well enough against strong to solid teammates (Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly) to indicate he might have another level. There’s no paucity of aggression or lack of trying, but that ‘it’ factor, the ability to manhandle a mid-grid car into somewhere it shouldn’t be, only appears on an occasional basis.
For now, beating his teammate over a season – something Ocon’s managed just once since his enforced 2019 sabbatical – has to be his aim.
