The Grand Prix after.
A month after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix to everyone's surprise, Esteban Ocon finds the paddock weighted with the status of last Grand Prix winner in Formula 1. An unsuspected status for him and his team, in great difficulty since the start of the race. 'summer.
But Ocon is now part of the closed circle of winning drivers in the premier class.
Enough to continue to perform well this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps?
"The past has no future"
After a well-deserved but also studious summer break for the French team, the time is already over for satisfaction. “
The past has no future
, insists Esteban Ocon from Belgium. It is worth focusing on the coming weekend.
With good points to look for here, it will be successful
. ” The Normand repeats over and over again that the season will only be successful in the event of a minimum fifth place in the constructors' standings. If good humor has been contagious in Enstone and Viry-Châtillon since this victory, there is no reason to rest on its laurels. And if we plan - like many other teams - already on the following season and the new regulations that will be put in place, the objectives remain full and complete until the beginning of December.
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“
We keep our feet on the ground. The main objective for the remainder of the season is to finish ahead of Aston Martin and AlphaTauri in the constructors
'
standings
, ”said Fernando Alonso. Heroic in Budapest, where he contained the ardor of Lewis Hamilton to ensure his teammate's chances of victory, the Spaniard has definitely rediscovered the joy and pleasure of driving. This Thursday, he was even confirmed driving Alpine for next season. The Ocon-Alonso duo will therefore leave for at least one season (Ocon has a contract until 2024). A lucid doublet on his chances of repeating such a performance this season. “
We need really special race conditions to grab a podium,”
Alonso analyzes.
Having so many abandoned cars on the first lap is quite exceptional.
"
Rainy weekend in anticipation
And why not similar conditions at Spa?
Rainy weather is announced in Belgium, the beginnings of an enticing battle of the Ardennes.
Traditionally one of the most spectacular weekends, the Belgian GP could extend the spectacle glimpsed in Great Britain and Hungary before the break.
In videoconference as in the passageways of the paddock, Ocon displayed a mischievous smile when he projected himself on a rainy GP.
“
It's always a crazy thing here, we come back from vacation when it was 30 degrees and there it is 10 degrees, it's borderline if it snows,
jokes the one who particularly likes to ride in the rain.
We must seize the opportunity if it arises.
But the opportunities go both ways ... you can be on the safe side like in Hungary.
It was perfect for the show and for teams like us, it makes the weekend more interesting.
"
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Enough to get those sacrosanct “
big points
”? The Alpine duo will want to capitalize on confidence and on their benchmarks on a course that is successful for them. Last year, Ocon's ex-teammate Daniel Ricciardo took 4th place in the GP ahead of the Frenchman, who had placed sixth there the previous year. Perhaps less successful in Belgium, where he has never won in his career, Alonso, 4th in the second free practice session on Friday, will seek to keep his good feelings at the controls of the A521. A welcome cocktail to grant a wish very dear to Esteban Ocon: “
It would be excellent to share a podium with Fernando Alonso. We know it's extremely difficult, but it would be the icing on the cake
. ”
