‘It’s a pretty sad end’ – Departing Esteban Ocon admits P8 will be ‘tough to recover’ for Alpine after losing ground to Williams

Esteban Ocon has acknowledged that Alpine expect a “tough” problem forward when it comes to attempting to reclaim eighth place within the constructors’ championship from Williams, with the Frenchman admitting that a lot of the season up to now has been “filled with issues and points” for the squad.

After Williams bolstered their tally by taking a double-points finish in Azerbaijan, the Grove outfit now hold P8 with 16 factors, giving them a three-point lead over Alpine. The Enstone crew, in the meantime, have failed to attain over the last three rounds in what has been an inconsistent marketing campaign for them.

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Talking in the course of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, Ocon was requested whether or not he anticipated Alpine to retake the place within the championship from Williams, a process that he instructed could possibly be a “powerful one”.

“It’s going to be tough, for positive,” the 28-year-old stated. “Williams are on a really upward trajectory on their aspect. They’ve been very fast all season and doubtless faster than us most instances.