Why is the 2023 F1 Spanish GP a home race for French driver Esteban Ocon?

Esteban Ocon claims the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix is almost a home race for him, as he has a lot of family living around Barcelona. The Frenchman believes the family support at the Catalan circuit boosts his morale to do better at the upcoming race this weekend.

Explaining his Spanish links, the Alpine driver said:

“Yes, I have a lot of family, obviously, that live around the circuit and, yes, my grandparents, you know, are Spanish, so for me it's almost two weekends of home races, or very close. So yeah, it feels good to come here and ready to attack the weekend. Obviously we are coming from a very good one. So yeah, I can't wait to attack this one.”

After securing a third-place podium in the last race in Monaco, Esteban Ocon is looking forward to the 2023 Spanish GP where he has home support. The Frenchman feels both races in the doubleheader are home races for him with Monaco being close to France, and him having a lot of relatives in Spain including his grandparents.

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Esteban Ocon reflects on the Spanish GP race weekend ahead

Esteban Ocon claimed he enjoyed the third-place podium in Monaco, and is looking forward to evaluating their car at the Spanish GP circuit. The Frenchman believes it is a circuit that will provide a better understanding of their car and where it compares to their rivals.

Reflecting on the Monaco weekend and overviewing the Spanish race weekend ahead, Esteban Ocon said :

“Yeah, it's been pretty wild, for sure. Great to celebrate with my team. We were all out partying and, yeah, it's been awesome to just… You know, everyone got a great reward after all the hard work and a difficult start of season. So yeah, we can be all pleased with what we've achieved."

He added:

"Obviously, feet to the ground coming to this weekend, it's going to be a good test to see where the car is exactly after putting all these upgrades on it. And yeah, it's a track that everyone knows super well. So, looking forward to test that.”

Esteban Ocon had last been on the podium at the Hungarian GP weekend where he claimed a victory in 2021. The third-place podium in Monaco has been a relief to the team, in terms of marking the progress of their car. Although Alpine plan to target the front runners at some point, the midfield bunching up is going to make their surge up the grid tougher.