Esteban Ocon has matured as a driver but is still a work-in-progress says his Alpine Formula 1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer, who expects the 26-year-old to improve.
Records show that Ocon beat his illustrious teammate Fernando Alonso last year in the F1 drivers’ standings while memory shows it was a season of niggles, if not outright acrimony between the two drivers.
In fact, Ocon tends to irk his teammates, ask Sergio Perez and rivals, ask Max Verstappen (Brazil 2018) so no surprise that Alpine boss Szafnauer suggests that is the weak area of the Frenchman’s make-up.
Szafnauer told RacingNews365: “[Esteban] has to judge better when his teammate is next to him because you don’t win a race on the first lap. Whether it’s a fight with his teammate or not.”
“If you’re aggressive with a rival and you both fly off, everyone loses. If you’re aggressive with your teammate and you both blow off, guess who loses? His judgment could probably be a bit better.”
It is a discussion that Szafnauer has had with Ocon before: “And if he needs to be told again, I’ll gladly remind him!”
At the same time, Ocon has matured as his results show, finishing behind Alonso in their first year together in 2021, last season the younger driver got the better of the elder.
Szafnauer acknowledged Ocon’s progress: “He’s definitely maturing, he understands things better and what I’m very happy about is that Esteban doesn’t succumb to pressure. I saw it when he won the 2021 GP of Hungary against (Sebastian) Vettel.
“We had the faster car and he didn’t make any mistakes there. He put his car in the right place and took the win,” recalled Szafnauer of Ocon’s first Grand Prix victory in Hungary, in 2021.
But the team boss points to another highlight, namely at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix: “It was more impressive to me that it happened in the rain at Suzuka, which is already not an easy track to drive on. And with Lewis (Hamilton) behind him, in a faster car and he still finish ahead of him. That’s impressive.
“He’s matured. Can he still improve? Yes, still, but we’re working on that,” declared Szafnauer.
Ocon will compete in his seventh F1 season, having made his debut at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix driving for Manor; he had a spell at Force India and a year with Racing Point, a gap year in 2019 before returning in 2020 with Renault (aka Alpine) where he remains.
This season he bids “good riddance” to Alonso and watches as Pierre Gasly slips into the Blue garage, a development that will severely test Ocon’s maturity as the pair have ‘history’ in the form a childhood karting feud that allegedly involves family.
Those who know the pair (and the history) are sure Szafnauer will have to dig deep into his management skills should this pairing not gel, hence no surprise the Alpine team boss is already warning his drivers – Ocon and Gasly – what the rules of engagement will be.