Esteban Ocon says he could have reached the end of Formula 1’s Portuguese Grand Prix using the Medium tyres with which he started.
Ocon was the last of the drivers to make their mandatory pit stop during the race as he preserved his set of Medium tyres for the first 53 of 66 laps prior to coming in for Softs.
The Frenchman ended up emerging from the pits ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in eighth but was unable to make substantial gains on those in front.
“It was a pretty decent race,” Ocon said. “Pretty crazy at the start. The lights were red, and as soon as they got red the rain started to drop.
“So I was like ‘wow, it is good timing’. So [a] very slippery couple of corners. But we managed to make those Medium tyres last for very long time and that was really good, and I’m very pleased with that.
“The communication between me and the team worked really well and we did 55 laps with the same set of tyres.
“And going faster lap by lap, so very satisfying on that side. We had to pit but we could have finished the race on that set of tyres.
“To have both cars in the points on a weekend where we are struggling for pace shows even the tough moments we can perform and be in the points.”
Renault currently sits fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing Racing Point and McLaren by six and four points respectively.
Ocon is 12th in the Drivers’ standings, 40 points behind Ricciardo, who holds fourth.
