Esteban Ocon sees the F1 Italian GP as a weekend of ”good learnings”, despite a disappointing weekend for Haas. The French driver finished the race 15th, after starting on the grid in the same position. A 5-second penalty on lap 2, for forcing Lance Stroll off the track, as well as a 51 lap stint on the hard tire, limited the Haas drivers chances of a positive result, in the end.
A Q2 exit placed Esteban Ocon in a troubling position ahead of F1 Italian GP
Both Haas drivers exited qualifying during Q2, with Ocon starting 15th on the grid. His teammate, Ollie Bearman meanwhile, narrowly missed entry into Q3, placing 11th. For Ocon, he stated in the print media pen about issues in qualifying.
”We found out a few things that were not correct with the car yesterday. We tried to rectify that today, but it was a bit late.”
Understeer problems plagued Haas in qualifying, limiting the potential for a Q3 entry. Ocon detailed the team were ”lacking front downforce on the car. This was a surprise for qualifying, something we were not expecting.”
Down towards the back of the pack was less than ideal for Ocon. In a track like Monza, where front aero is crucial, this would provide concern for Haas going into race day.
Narrowing Monza track left no room for Lance Stroll, Ocon claims
Ocon received a 5-second time penalty for running the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll off the track. This occurred on the run to the second chicane on lap 2. When asked about the incident post-race, the French driver explained how the track tightens on entry.
”It’s a place where the track basically narrows out. Even if you stay on your line, basically the track narrows, so the driver on the outside will always have the wheel in the grass.“
Stroll approached Ocon at pace through the Curva Grande, with the Aston Martin looking to attempt a move around the outside into Turn 4, while Ocon held the inside line. In the end, Lance Stroll was pushed onto the grass by Ocon. The Canadian was forced to take evasive action through the escape road, after his right front tyre grazed the grass, narrowly avoiding a collision.
When informed by race engineer Laura Mueller of his awarded penalty, Ocon verbally expressed his frustration, in clear disagreement of the FIA’s decision. The French driver held that stance afterwards.
”It’s more of a case of the track narrowing, more than me not leaving the space to my friend Lance.”
Ocon discusses the 51-lap stint that didn’t come to fruition
Ocon started on the C3 hard compound tyres. This would be a stint that would take him until almost the very end. The French driver would finish his brief second stint on the soft. It was a strategy by Haas that has been used multiple times this season. Unfortunately for Ocon, this long run wouldn’t end in success.
The Italian Grand Prix this year saw no safety cars or interruptions. This has made it the fastest race of the year so far and in history, clocking at 1 hour and 13 minutes. With no safety car opportunity, this limited Haas’ pit window opportunities significantly. Ocon also had to serve his 5-second penalty.
The choice to stay out was due to Ocon’s feeling.
“The tyres were getting quicker and quicker, so it just made sense to keep going.” He later reflected on this decision, stating: ”I don’t think it’s the optimum race to do, staying on one set of tyres.”
For most of the race, Ocon struggled to keep pace up due to other drivers on fresher tyres, and graining of his own. This left no room for progress up the field, despite the advantage of a no stop for most of the race. Combined with the penalty served in the pit lane, the Haas long run pace wasn’t enough to propel him into a points finish.
Esteban Ocon sees the F1 Italian GP weekend as great lessons, despite disappointment
While a points finish was out of reach, Esteban Ocon sees the lessons learned from the Italian Grand Prix as a positive. Despite unexpected car problems, he sees it as a chance to improve, particularly on his ”side of the garage, more than anything”.
”1.30am in the morning, looking with the engineers, looking at data, it was very clear what the problem was with the feedback that I was giving. Good learning on that.”
Esteban Ocon now stands 13th in the Drivers’ standings, having earned 28 points so far this season. Haas meanwhile suffer a setback in the Constructors Standings. They currently stand 9th, 11 points behind Sauber in the midfield Constructors’ fight. The American outfit will aim to rectify this in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, next weekend.
