Ocon defiant over promise despite Alpine slump

Esteban Ocon has stated his contract situation is “no different” amid Alpine’s lacklustre start to the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Concerns were raised during the pre-season testing that Alpine’s challenger for the season would be off the pace compared to its pecking order position last year.

Its fears were realised at the season-opening round in Bahrain when it locked out the last row of the grid and failed to make an impact during the Grand Prix.

Ocon is one of several drivers who is out of contract at the end of the current season, sparking the potential for him to seek a drive elsewhere on the grid.

When asked how Alpine’s current form will impact his future, Ocon said: “To be honest, no different.

“The most important [thing] for me is to extract the maximum out of the car and do the best job I can.

“[I want to] come out of the car after the weekend and think, ‘OK, I’ve done the maximum that I could have done, [I’ve] done the best out of my weekend’.

“It doesn’t change my vision of things and how I want to approach the weekends.”

Alpine’s difficult opening round was followed by another challenging outing in Saudi Arabia as it once again failed to walk away from the weekend with points.

Despite the low results, Ocon insisted the team has not lost its motivation.

“Obviously, it is a frustrating time as a driver, as an engineer, as a team boss, [for] everyone,” he said.

“We don’t like the situation we’re in. We keep sticking together, all around the team and that’s the most important [thing].

“If the morale goes down, everyone is down after such difficult times [when] you are going downhill. That’s not the case.”