Esteban Ocon says that the Alpine Formula 1 team can be proud of how it has recovered following its difficult start to the 2023 campaign.
The French squad endured a challenging opening handful of rounds which included a double DNF in Australia when Ocon and team-mate Pierre Gasly collided late on.
It followed up with another point-less round in Baku but has scored three consecutive double-points results since.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Ocon provided Alpine with its best result of the year by crossing the line in third place, taking a third career podium.
The performance came shortly after Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi publicly criticised the operation of the F1 squad.
But Ocon states that the entire team can be buoyed by the effort to recover from the difficult opening rounds.
“We can be proud of how the team has bounced back following a difficult start to the season, which we know was below our expectations,” he said.
“We have scored double points at each of the last three races and achieved a deserved podium as well.
“The team has been working flat-out to deliver these results so all credit to them, both at the factories and at the track.
“We know, however, we are not at the level of our competitors in front so that is something we are addressing as we still want to achieve the ambitious targets that we have set ourselves at the beginning of the year.
“We are fighters and we believe we can challenge our competitors on the track like we’ve shown already at races this season.
“Every race is an opportunity for this, and we are glad we can have another go this weekend in Montréal.”
With the Canadian Grand Prix being held this weekend, Ocon is hopeful that Alpine can continue its momentum at the event.
“Most corners in Montréal come as a double change of direction, which requires good responsiveness from the car, so set-up is very important,” Ocon stated.
“There are also the walls which make it exciting to drive and keeps us on our toes.
“The track surface in Montreal is usually quite smooth but tyre degradation in the race is normally relatively high as we use the softest compound of tyres.
“Combined with the stop-and-go nature of the track, this improves the chances of overtaking which can make it an entertaining Grand Prix.
“We were sixth here last year so we will look to match or improve that this time around!”
