Haas was able to achieve an important success again at the Formula 1 race in Canada and overtake competitor Racing Bulls in the championship. Thanks to the ninth place from Esteban Ocon, the American racing team is now in sixth place in the designer World Cup.
The Frenchman was able to perfectly implement the Haas strategy in Montreal and was rewarded. Ocon had completed a long first stint on hard tires and had only come to pit stop in round 58 out of 70.
He had driven out so much lead on the freely that he got tenth again in front of Franco Colapinto’s alpine before he was given a position from Lando Norris later.
“It was a perfect execution,” he praises the team. “I was free in front of me. It was clear that it looked good – I was able to drive constantly good lap times and improve little things from round to rounds in driving behavior. You never know where you come out after the pit stop, but when I came in and saw where I was, I thought, that was a good stint.”
Ocon emphasizes that he was able to exploit the potential of the car on Sunday, even if he had to fight something on the hard tires at the beginning. “At the same time we also had to keep an eye on the tires, and that’s not easy,” he says.
“Nevertheless, we did it and I am very satisfied that we could get two points. What is also very positive: the racing pace was very strong-as strong as that of Williams or even better. We still have to work on our one-round pace, because in the race we are much stronger than in qualifying.”
That was also the case in Canada. Ocon and teammate Oliver Bearman had survived both Q1, but they had become the last in Q2.
Problems with the speed
Haas would lose a lot there in particular on the long straight: “It looks like the others are using something else on the straight. Especially in qualifying, the others are much faster on the straight, and that’s where we lose,” says Ocon.
“This difference disappears in the racing trim – or at least smaller. It does not disappear quite, but it decreases and we come closer. We definitely have to work on the qualifying pace, but in the race we are significantly stronger than on one round.”
Ocon’s happiness: He was not dependent in the race to overtake competitors with his bad top speed. Instead, he consistently drove his rounds on the freely travel and came back on the route before switching to medium before the competition.
In the end, the wages were ninth and two important points in the fight for World Cup place six. Unsurprisingly, according to Ocon, the mood in the team is very good. “Everyone works hard and everyone is very happy when we enter a good result like today,” he says. “It’s fun to work with the team and we are building an ever closer relationship.”
“You know what I need and I know what to expect from me. It’s going well.”
Bad training a little worrying
For the Frenchman, Canada was the fourth top 10 placement this season. On Friday it looked like Haa’s severe problems in Montreal. But this is a trend that you have been able to observe this season.
“To be honest, it’s a bit worrying,” says Ocon. “When we start the weekend and are so far back, it is unclear why this is so. But what is certain: this weekend we have improved the car step by step in every session. So we went in the right direction.”
Incidentally, this should not be due to the simulation tools: “No, we prepared well in the simulator, even with the team,” he waves. “The car felt pretty good in FT1. But the further the weekend progresses, the better the performance.