F1 News: Esteban Ocon With Bad News on Alpine - 'Taken a Step Back'

This has been a challenging weekend for Ocon and the French team.

May 3, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Alpine driver Esteban Ocon (31) talks with the media after / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

In a disappointing turn for Alpine at the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Esteban Ocon reveals the team has regressed, missing a chance at Q3 due to powertrain setbacks. Ocon described the qualifying as the least maximized this season, highlighting significant challenges.

Among the narratives emerging from the weekend's opening sessions was Esteban Ocon's forthright assessment of the performance of his Alpine machinery, casting a shadow over the team's recent updates.

Ocon, who has shown competitive flashes this season, found himself grappling with more than just his rivals on Saturday. Describing multiple issues with his A524 including engine cut-outs and a loss of turbo boost, the French driver expressed frustration over the reality that these mechanical issues directly impacted his qualifying efforts. The issues ensured an exit in Q2, bringing his qualifying session to an early end.

"I think we did a step back unfortunately in that qualifying session on our side," Ocon admitted in a reflective tone post-qualifying..

"It looks good because everyone’s saying, yeah, two cars in Q2, but no, we’ve been in Q2 a lot this year," Ocon continued. “This session, there was more on the table. Unfortunately, the changes we did were not the best. And on top of that, we had an engine deficit with a tenth and a half.

“The engine was cutting through the session. The turbo boost had to surge. I don’t know what happened exactly because it didn’t do that yesterday. But we clearly had something going on. And in terms of the straight line, yeah, a tenth and a half. That was the loss across the two cars.

“So all these little things add up. And in the end, if you put them together, you get closer to Q3. And today, yeah, that was probably the less maximised session of the year.”

Despite the setbacks, Ocon remained cautiously optimistic about the race, expecting that his setup “should be decent for race pace”.

For now, Ocon and Alpine face a recovery task, both in terms of points and morale. With a mid-field as competitive as ever, Alpine seems to be slipping to the bottom of the grid with zero points, sat ninth in the Constructors' Standings.