Interview: Ocon notes 'huge' Alpine improvements since joining team

Alpine's 2023 Formula 1 campaign was largely overshadowed by aseries of managerial changes that took place midway through theyear. In fact, prominent change was present right from the start asPierre Gasly joined following several years under the Red Bullumbrella. Ocon's career highlight to date came with the Frenchmanufacturer when he prevailed at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix tosecure his first race win in F1. Despite the boost that it offeredAlpine, the team has not been able to make strides forward sincethen and spent this year's campaign lodged securely in themidfield. While it watched rivals Aston Martin and McLaren makeimpressive gains, Alpine slipped to sixth in the Constructors'Championship. There were highlights however, as the team ended theyear with two podiums. Ocon bagged one of those as he crossed theline in third place around the famous Monaco streets. “I thinkthere have been some ups and downs, quite a bit,” Ocon exclusivelytold RacingNews365 . “Which is not ideal, obviously, in the season.“We had some very good moments like Monaco and Spa, they were raceswhere we were very, very strong. “Each time we had an opportunity,we took it as a team and that's been fantastic. So we need to keepthat going.” 'I don't know if it's realistic, I don't care either'But while Ocon highlighted Alpine's positive moments from the year,the Frenchman did not shy away from the fact that the team has atask ahead of it if it wishes to improve. “We need to work on theperformance of the car, some teams have done a better job than usin progressing and getting stronger updates into the cars. “That'swhat we need to try and change. Obviously, we're already working onthe 2024 car in the simulator. We took it earlier in the year,which should help for our 2024 campaign.” The developments of AstonMartin and McLaren in 2023 prompted several drivers to highlightthem as inspiration going forward. When asked if its realistic toproduce similar gains with development next year, Ocon said: “Idon't know if it's realistic, I don't care to be honest. “That’swhat we have to look at. That's where we have to aim. We want toclose the gap, we want to get more competitive. “We're not goinginto the new year thinking otherwise. Because otherwise we wouldnever be winners.” But what specifically does Alpine need toimprove for 2024? “When people ask me that, [I find it] quite funnybecause it's never one thing in Formula 1. It’s always a lot ofdetails, a lot of different departments that are just lacking alittle bit of something that's showing up in the pace of the car.“That's what we need to be stronger at, it's a little biteverywhere. I would say we are not the best straight line or notthe best in corners or managing our tyres. It's a little bit ofeverything. So we need to keep working hard and hopefully we'llfind some good performance.” The text continues below the image.Ocon keeps notes Ocon revealed that he keeps notes on his phoneregarding areas that Alpine must improve on and stated that he hasalready seen positive growth from previous campaigns. “I alwayskeep big notes in my phone throughout the years on what we have toimprove and it's quite crazy,” he said. “I was reading through 2020and 2021, the amount of things that we've solved, that we've movedforward, that we've improved, it's been huge. “You don't alwaystranslate this straightaway to performance. But it also shows thatthe other teams are moving forward. We're not the only onesworking, we need to just work smarter and better than other teams.“I should maybe not say that [about the notes] because people willtry and steal my phone! I mean, since 2018, 2019, I've been doingthis. I’ve got a lot of notes from my Mercedes days as well in 2019which were very interesting.” Asked about the management changesthat saw Laurent Rossi, Otmar Szafnauer and Alan Permane leavetheir roles during the year, Ocon declared that he is solelyfocused on the driving side of the operation. “I've always beenfocused on the driver’s job that I have to do, which is to bedriving the car as fast as it can go,” he said. “That's the onlything I can do. That's the only thing I should be worried about.That’s all I’m focusing on.”