Formula 1
The "circle" Ocon needs at Haas after being ignored at Alpine
Communication will be key for Esteban Ocon at Haas after a disappointing experience at Alpine
Ben Vinel Oleg Karpov
Edited: Aug 12, 2024, 2:38 PM
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Esteban Ocon laments the lack of communication at the Alpine Formula 1 team and says he will do his utmost "to not miss any single detail" at Haas.
Ocon has spent the last four seasons and a half with the Enstone-based outfit, whose performance over that period of time stagnated then deteriorated. The team went from fourth in the 2022 constructors' championship to its current eighth position with just 11 points scored – the squad's worst record since the 2016 campaign, when Renault returned to F1 as a constructor.
Ocon will race for Haas next season, as he and Alpine decided to part ways as early as June this year, in the wake of his Monaco collision with team-mate and rival Pierre Gasly – which Bruno Famin, then team principal, had warned there would be "consequences" for.
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Ocon's time at Alpine was marked by the outfit's instability, especially at the management level, with the departures of twelve team leaders including four successive team principals and five technical chiefs.
The Frenchman is particularly aggravated by a lack of communication within the squad, which he sees as the main cause of its current downfall.
Asked in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com whether he has any regrets in leaving Alpine, Ocon replies: "No, because I gave everything I had to this team.
"Regrets to a point where, you know, it's not only me: it's Daniel [Ricciardo], Fernando [Alonso], Pierre [Gasly], myself. All the drivers that have come through this team, we gave feedback to the team.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524
Photo by: Alpine
"Normally there is a circle where, from the drivers to the team, you give some information. Then you have technical [feedback] on either 'yes, you guys are right, we need to be addressing that' or 'no, we can't, because of this or that'. There hasn't been any of that.
"The following year, you find out that some of the issues that you talked about haven't been fixed and have been going the other way.
"I try to guide this team to the best I can, [but] we haven't always been listened to. And this is why some of the issues still remain after five years in this team.
"There are new people now, inside the team, technically. I wish them the best, and I hope that this team can obviously succeed. But that circle was key from the start and hasn't been put in place correctly for us to make a step – enough of the step for the future."
This negative experience will however be invaluable for Ocon as he seeks to make the most of his new challenge at Haas, where he will be paired with rookie Oliver Bearman.
Asked whether he will take on the team leader role in the American squad given his team-mate's lack of experience, Ocon nuances: "I don't know if 'the team leader' is the right thing to say, but I will put commitment, efforts, dedication to not miss any single detail and to share everything that I believe is important to improve – but quickly.
"You need not to wait a year for things to come in because things take time to develop, things take time to be created. And if you miss something for the first six months, well, it can be a year and six months until it comes to you."
"I've learned that now, that circle is key. And it has to happen. And I will make sure that once I say something I get [feedback] on it and I get an explanation – so we can open a debate. Because if you talk in the air, you know, it dissipates and it doesn't go anywhere."
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