Alpine can arrive in a “pretty strong position” in 2021 - Ocon

Esteban Ocon has warned midfield rivals McLaren and Aston Martin this season has put his team in a “pretty strong position” for when it returns as the re-branded Alpine team next year.

Ocon, who will be joined by returning two-time world champion Fernando Alonso at the Enstone-based squad next year, believes his side of the garage became stronger as the 2020 season went on.

He explained: “Overall, the progress has been very strong I’m pretty happy with how I’ve ended the season in terms of pace and performance and how we are working with the team together.

“That is a lot stronger to how it has been to start with, and I feel I have gained some performance and confidence in the car and that’s very good. We will make sure we are on top of the detail next year and that we are ready.

Ocon finished 12th in the championship with 62 points, including a best finish of second at the penultimate Sakhir Grand Prix but he also suffered four-race retirements and several other issues that left him out of the points.

He believes that while there were plenty of disappointments along the way, those “negatives” will be essential for the team to build on as it continues to build momentum having doubled its points score this year to last.

“It’s a bit of a shame we missed third-place in the constructors this weekend, but there is a lot of positives to take onboard with this year and things that we didn’t do perfectly right as well,” he said.

“We will work for next year, taking the positives and cancelling any negatives, and then we should be in a pretty strong position next year.”

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