Ocon claimed it had been his best season to date in Formula One, a sentiment confirmed by his highest points total in a single season.
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The majority of Alpine’s points came from Ocon, which overcame McLaren in the season’s final race and ended fourth in the constructors’ standings. Ocon claimed it had been his best season to date in Formula One, a sentiment confirmed by his highest points total in a single season, despite the fact that he had yet to finish on the podium through 2022. When asked by reporter if he had noticed a significant improvement in Ocon this season, Alpine F1 chief Szafnauer noted that the driver had “some amazing races” and emphasised his defensive work. “There were other occasions when we feared that the performance would not be as good as usual, but he surprised us. Extremely, really fantastic for him,” Szafnauer exclaimed. Suzuka, though, really sticks out to me. That was incredible! Lewis [Hamilton], driving a Mercedes, was the faster car and was excellent in wet, variable, and drying conditions. Lewis also drove in your mirrors constantly. Just have a look at [Mercedes’] result in the championship, I mean. And he deterred him. Brilliant.
In the rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Ocon held off Hamilton for the whole race, beating the seven-time world champion to fourth place. At the hairpin and on the run from Spoon to 130R, Hamilton was able to put pressure on Ocon, but the Alpine driver remained steady and set up his car flawlessly to maintain a lead. Szafnauer joked that Ocon should be given a nickname like Sergio Perez, who was called the Mexican minister of defence for his efforts in Abu Dhabi last year, because of performances like that, which gave Szafnauer confidence that Ocon would be able to hold drivers back in subsequent races.
I am aware that Checo goes by the moniker “minister of defence,” but perhaps we ought to modify it to “what’s minister of defence in France?” questioned Szafnauer. Find out what that is, please. Find out what that is, and call him by that moniker! Ocon met Szafnauer after the press conference in Abu Dhabi and gave him an autographed Alpine F1 race suit from the 2021 campaign. Then Szafnauer mentioned his proposed nickname, which Ocon interpreted as “ministre de la défense” in French.
