Esteban Ocon: “We had a strong day testing the new upgrades”

Esteban Ocon was pleased to be back driving at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, but Friday’s running proved to the Frenchman that the track remains a challenging and physical one.

The BWT Alpine F1 Team driver had a productive Friday in Singapore, finishing seventh fastest in the first session and sixth in the second, but Ocon feels the three-week gap since the Italian Grand Prix has been welcome by everyone as they prepared for the most physical race of the season.

“There’s really nothing quite like driving in Singapore and it’s great to be back here after a few years,” said Ocon.  

“After both practice sessions today, it’s again quite clear how much of a challenge this track is physically with the heat and humidity so I think most drivers will have been pleased with having those extra few days of preparation ahead of the race weekend.”

Ocon believed it was good to test the updates Alpine had brought to Singapore this weekend, and he hopes the potential the team had on Friday can translate into a strong weekend.

“On track, we had a strong day testing the new upgrades and are relatively happy with how our programme went today,” the Frenchman added.  “It’s good to see that the track was not as bumpy as we perhaps thought it was going to be, especially with these cars.

“We look forward to coming back tomorrow and having another solid day to be in the best position for Sunday’s race.”

“It was not an ideal day for us” – Fernando Alonso

Team-mate Fernando Alonso suffered a gearbox issue during the opening session on Friday, but despite the loss of track time, he too was able to finish both sessions inside the top ten.

The Spaniard ended tenth fastest in the daytime session and improved to eighth under the floodlights, but Alonso admitted the limited track time compromised the day a little, although he remains confident about the potential of Alpine this weekend.

“It was not an ideal day for us with some limited running in the first practice, after the issue with the gearbox,” Alonso said.  “Generally, Free Practice 2 was good and even though we are a little behind schedule with the limited track time, I think we are in a good place and I’m quite confident for tomorrow.

“Our car upgrade seems to be working well so far, but we will continue to analyse all of the data tonight and tomorrow.”

Fernando Alonso ended inside the top ten in both sessions – Credit: Octane Photographic Ltd