Esteban Ocon ready to take Alpine to the podiums but won't set any deadlines yet

Esteban Ocon of Alpine revealed that he is eager to step onto the podium again with the team in 2023, but did not give any deadline for when that might happen. Expanding on the 100-race plan proposed by the team, he stated that the team is working hard, but it is hard to say how much time they will take to develop a car competitive enough to get into the top three of any race. During an interview with RacingNews365, he said,

"I want to taste it [a podium finish] soon, I tell you, but everybody's working hard on that. It’s hard to give a time on that."

In early 2021, Laurent Rossi, the CEO of Alpine, proposed a plan for the team's competitiveness in the sport. Last season was their first as a team, and he stated that the team will be working in the coming seasons to perform exceptionally well by 2024. He labelled it the 100-race plan. The team, who were then running in 5th place in the constructor's championship, were expected to follow an upward trajectory to make their plan work perfectly. Talking to F1.com, Rossi said,

“We have a long-term project, the objective is to reach a level of competitiveness that places us on the podium as many times as possible in 2024. From today in fifth, you can easily find a roadmap. It’s going to be every year a bit better. It’s a 100-race project, four years, four seasons."

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Esteban Ocon feels that the team is working in the right direction

Though Esteban Ocon achieved his first podium at the Sakhir Grand Prix of 2020, he has tasted victory only once during his Formula 1 career at the Hungarian Grand Prix of 2021. Since then, he has been longing to step into the top spot again, or at least the top three. While talking about the 100-race target of the team, he stated that the team is going in the right direction and there will soon be noticeable improvements. He said,

"Obviously, there is the 100-race target, but I feel that we're on the right path after this year, and that's the important thing. I think from there on, we're only going to improve."

Esteban Ocon also talked about the major changes he saw at the factory and how the car has been developing and looked hopeful about it. After Fernando Alonso's shock exit from the team, Alpine chose Pierre Gasly as his worthy replacement. The two Frenchmen will be looking to score many points for the team in 2023.