Esteban Ocon is not a fan of the “political” side of Formula 1 and has described it as the element he hates the most in the sport.
The Frenchman is in the rare position of being in possession of a long-term contract, with his contract with Alpine set to expire at the end of 2024.
This means that while ‘silly season’ unfolded, nowhere more than on his own team could Ocon watch.
Current team-mate Fernando Alonso sparked a series of driver moves that saw the Spaniard move to Aston Martin, Oscar Piastri rejected an Alpine deal before moving to McLaren, Pierre Gasly taken his place and Nyck de Vries offered his luck in F1. AlphaTauri.
Ocon enjoyed the benefits of a multi-year contract and described the “political” side of Formula 1 as “the thing I hate the most about this sport”.
“It’s definitely a great luxury to be able to build a long relationship with the team,” he said. the race. “From the work I do on the simulator, I say ‘OK next year, we have to have that’ and if I wasn’t sure when I said that, the team probably wouldn’t make the part.
“And as the silly season gets more silly, it’s a good thing to be out. You’re never relaxed, but that political side is what I hate the most about this sport.
It looks like an exciting time at Alpine with the current car difficult for P4 and the team aiming to go even further than that. Ocon said so, feeling they are on the right path to breaking through.
“It’s good to finish seventh or eighth when the car is capable of being seventh or eighth, but what I want is to win,” said the 26-year-old.
“I think we’re on the right track to probably break through. It’s not done yet, so knock on wood it will happen, but we’re moving in the right direction.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into it. I’ve put my whole life into it, every week I’m at the factory helping the guys, trying to develop everything I can. Sometimes I’m even too involved! C So that’s all the energy I put into it.
“For you to say there could be a breakthrough, you see it’s going in the right direction, which feels good.”
Ocon is currently P8 in the Ranking of drivers11 points ahead of his teammate Alonso.
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