Alpine take a different path: 'We're going into war mode'

Esteban Ocon had a rather anonymous season. After his win in Hungary in 2021, the Frenchman hoped to steadily progress to the top with Alpine, but it was only just under two seasons after that feat at the Hungaroring that Ocon managed to reach the podium again. Yet only a third place in Monaco was not what he and his ambitious team had previously hoped for - perhaps even counted on.

Ocon is not completely satisfied with his season. During an interview with GPblog he said: "No, I think there have been some very good things, some very good opportunities that we took, but the consistency overall hasn't been there. We had too many DNFs. That has cost us. I think it's nine DNFs almost in total, probably the most of any drivers. If you remove the issue we have with the gearbox in Singapore, the contact with Oscar in Austin, we could have been in the top 10 in the championship, so that's where it's really a bit of a wasted opportunity."

Alpine has new investors

Alpine has wanted to make the step towards the top teams for years. Their victory in Hungary in 2021 was a welcome surprise, but proved to be an exception. Alpine remains stuck in the middle of the pack. Still, to achieve that extra boost, new investors have been found in recent months; well-known actors and athletes, for example. "foR the parts of the car, we are all on the budget cap, so that should be the sam," Ocon said about the financial injection.

"But it's awesome to see so many great names, great personalities coming along our journey. These people have been so successful in what they do, and they are definitely helping us in many different areas. Everyone has a massive smile and it gives massive confidence inside the garage to be pushing and to make them proud of what we do. It’s honestly awesome to be working with such personalities and such agents."

Alpine change in 2024

Meanwhile, Ocon has also started his winter break. A short one, by his own admission: "I think 17th of December, that's when I will restart training. So, that's until Christmas. Almost a week. Then from 2nd of Jan until the first test, I will be back fully into training camp. I'm going to be doing it the way I was doing in 2022, which is no life, flat out, only racing."

His team, Alpine, are also going to help Ocon that the focus is on racing, less on side issues. "We've been doing a lot of different things and activations outside the track this year. That's going to change next year. Back to war mode and fully focused on the racing side. But yeah, as I said, 17th of December, before that there's going to be the Christmas party of the team. There's going to be some simulator work, the test going on. I'm going to be able to have a couple of days seeing my family that I haven't seen for a while. We're going to have some good times with friends as well."