Esteban Ocon says he was just one lap away from sustaining a puncture after opting not to stop for fresh tyres at the Turkish Grand Prix.
The Alpine driver stuck with the same set of Intermediate tyres for the duration of the race and was the only driver not to take on a new allocation.
Pirelli says it warned teams against attempting the zero-stop strategy, however the plan allowed Ocon to finish in 10th after he started from 12th.
Ocon crossed the line seven-tenths of a second ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi, but thinks he was only moments away from a punctured tyre.
“It was pretty difficult, we gave a good break to the guys, to the crew – they had enough pit stops the whole year, so let’s try it without!” Ocon joked.
“No, more seriously, it was tricky at the end, a couple of more corners I would’ve lost that point. It’s good to have a reward in the end, I’m pretty pleased to get that point for everybody.
“One more lap, I think we would’ve got a puncture. It was a risky bet. We made it work today.
“It’s not the best weekend for us, clearly. That one point probably saves it a bit but we have some work to do to come back to the level of performance we had a couple of races ago. We need to keep on top of that for Austin.”
Ocon’s Intermediate tyres had much of the grooves worn away by the chequered flag, which effectively turned it into a slick compound.
Pirelli’s Head of F1 Mario Isola mirrored Ocon’s comments, stating Alpine was on the limit in regard to its tyre wear.
“Most of the cars that stopped after Lap 47, 48 were completely finished,” Isola told Sky F1. “We know that with the new tarmac that is more abrasive, more grip compared to last year.
“The track wasn’t dry but still abrasive. It was really, really at the limit. I was suggesting our allocated engineers to worn the teams to change the tyres, not to got to the end because it was a risky move.”
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