Alpine’s Esteban Ocon is aiming to mount “a strong comeback” in 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.
Ocon endured a “difficult” Italian Grand Prix weekend which saw him struggle throughout the whole weekend, as he eventually retired from the race with a steering issue on a track which the Frenchman believes “did not play to the team’s strengths of our overall car package.”
The 26 year-old – who celebrates his 27th birthday on the day of Singapore GP – however iterated that Monza marked “a weekend of learning for us.”
Ocon and Alpine have since “analysed” their performance data and how to learn from that race heading into the final eight races of this season.
Looking ahead to Singapore, Ocon is confident that Alpine can bounce back as he explained: “We remain positive and we are confident we can make a strong comeback in Singapore, a track that should better suit our car.
“We’ll keep our heads down and work hard to have a more competitive weekend.”
Singapore is considered one of the hardest and longest races on the F1 calendar due to the race distance and high humidty, which Ocon warned will create “unique challenges,” and will be “physically very demanding on the body,” but create an “exhilarating” feeling.
The Frenchman also acknowledged how “twisty” the Marina Bay Street Circuit is as he explained that the track will be “very technical” for drivers to understand, yet is a track which “present opportunities to do well” if get a chaotic race.
This year’s Singapore GP also sees a reduction in corners from 23 to 19, due to the removal of Turns 16, 17, 18 and 19, due to redevelopment of the Marina Bay Floating Platform for community space use which means that there will be a straight between Turn 15 and the new Turn 16.
Ocon consequently is hopeful that this temporary change for this year’s race will allow him “to maximise these chances and aim to get back into the points come Sunday and make my birthday extra special!”
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