Ocon thriving through “new approach” at Alpine

Esteban Ocon has revealed a new approach and a new team around him in Alpine has left him feeling “a lot better than last year” and more confident than ever this season.

After Renault re-branded as Alpine this year, the team chose not to replace former team principal Cyril Abiteboul and instead opted to split responsibilities between executive director Marcin Budkowski and new racing director Davide Brivio.

Former champion Fernando Alonso also joined this season, but Ocon appears to be thriving and has performed well against his high-profile team-mate, finishing ahead in the last three races when both have been classified.

“I have a different team of people around me," said Ocon. "There’s been a lot of changes over the winter, the approach has been quite different but more to my liking.

“We are building strong weekends at the moment and I feel very confident in the team, very well integrated, a lot better than last year.

“I know what I need from the car and when I put numbers down on my debrief sheet, the guys know what to put on the car. It’s working really well at the moment.”

Alpine took a step forward in the last two races in Portugal and Spain, notably in one-lap pace in the latter where Ocon qualified a superb fifth.

"It definitely is good to have done such a step in terms of performance," added Ocon.

“We keep pushing and we will keep trying to close the gap but at least we’ve shown what we’re doing is working well in terms of progression.“

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