Esteban Ocon: “I can already feel all the memories of last year coming back”

Esteban Ocon returns to the venue of his maiden FIA Formula 1 World Championship victory for the first time this weekend, but the Frenchman knows it is important to focus on this year rather than last.

The BWT Alpine F1 Team racer was the surprise victor at the Hungaroring twelve months ago after taking advantage of the chaotic race start and Lewis Hamilton’s failure to pit for dry weather tyres ahead of the restart.

Ocon hopes to have a strong race this weekend to help Alpine edge further clear of the McLaren F1 Team as the two teams battle for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship around a track that is amongst his favourites even without taking into account his victory last year.

“I feel good, and it will be emotional to be back in Budapest for sure,” said Ocon.  “I can already feel all the memories of last year coming back. But that was last year, and we need to be fully focused as a team to deliver another solid weekend.

“It will be important to go into the shutdown with a feeling of having really cemented that fourth spot in the Constructors’ Championship. We know it will be difficult, but we have the team and the tools to do just that.

“We will be giving it one last push before a well-earned break for the team who have worked incredibly hard all year. I do really enjoy the track and it’s one of my favourites, and not just because I won there!

“I like the second sector and how fast and flowing it is. It seems you don’t get a break from turn four to turn 11, and if your set-up is good that sequence of corners can feel really nice and make you feel like you’re extracting the maximum from the car. It’s a really fun track to drive.”

“Top seven positions is a very realistic goal for us” – Fernando Alonso

Like Ocon, team-mate Fernando Alonso also had his maiden Formula 1 victory at the Hungaroring back in 2003, and he has many good memories of racing at the circuit.

The Spaniard has been on a good run of form in 2022, with a sixth-place finish last weekend in France meaning he has scored points in the past seven races to sit tenth in the championship standings.

He hopes for another strong performance from the team his weekend as he bids to close the points gap on those ahead of him in the standings, with Alonso saying the result in France proves that a top seven finish is possible if they have a clean day.

“It was a good Sunday for us after a challenging weekend,” said Alonso.  “We found it quite tricky to find the right setup during Practice and we weren’t quite happy with the balance until just before Qualifying.

“However, we showed that when we can have a clean weekend, to aim for the top seven positions is a very realistic goal for us as we were pretty comfortable in the race.

“Obviously Budapest is where I took my first-ever win in Formula 1. We had a good car that year and we were building something very strong towards the next few years. But, we weren’t expecting a win that year. I think we found the circuit to really suit our package.

“Of course, there was last year too, which was Alpine’s first-ever win. The race also tends to be fall around my birthday, so it’s a good weekend for me with lots of memories and hard to choose one. It’s a fun track and a real challenge as a driver, with its tight and twisty nature.”

Fernando Alonso says Alpine can fight for top seven finishes in 2022 if they have clean weekends – Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd