"It's not a guarantee": Esteban Ocon unsure of when Alpine can score its first points of the season

Esteban Ocon was frustrated after the Australian GP, where he crossed the line in P16 - last of all classified finishers. The Frenchman was optimistic after a strong qualifying result, but misfortune threw away any chance for Ocon to claim Alpine's first points of 2024.

The last few months have been extremely difficult for Team Enstone. Not only have senior technical figures departed, but the A524 also has numerous weaknesses.

Aside from excess weight and an underpowered engine, this year's Team Enstone challenger is a relatively basic version of a new concept. Bruno Famin's personnel will find it difficult to understand and maximize their package. Therefore, upgrades are not expected in the near future.

However, with rivals struggling, Alpine had an opportunity to earn some points in the third round of F1 2024.

Esteban Ocon feels a golden chance went away from the team:

"It's an unfortunate race. Obviously, I am the only one to have done three stops today because of that issue," he explained in the media pen post-race.

"And we were running on for possible points - we were in front of Kevin, fighting with Alex, in front of Nico as well."

Esteban Ocon unsure Alpine will close the gap

The 27-year-old was generally positive in his feedback last weekend, revealing incremental improvements to the A524's handling.

However, the Australian GP was a relatively rare instance where three front-runners retired from the race. Whilst Yuki Tsunoda and the Haas duo capitalized, the French outfit did not.

Looking at the upcoming sequence of rounds, Esteban Ocon cannot confidently predict Alpine will close the gap to their rivals:

"We will see. Today, and this weekend in general, the car felt pretty good. I think it goes in the right direction, definitely.

"That said, it's not a guarantee we are going to keep going in the same way.

"So until we do it, we need to take it step by step and see where we are in the next one."

The next round of the 2024 season will be at Suzuka, a circuit notorious as a litmus test in Formula 1.

Japan's combination of high and medium-speed corners will punish teams that are lacking aerodynamic efficiency and load.

Therefore, Alpine will be hoping to optimize the A524's performance at a circuit that can be especially challenging. Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will strive to keep morale high and try to find positives in what was an undoubtedly difficult environment.