The French driver and Haas demonstrated a remarkable ability to bounce back this Sunday in Shanghai, securing a rare fifth place for the American team after a disappointing start to the season.
Given the broad smile on Esteban Ocon’s face at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix, which he thought he had finished in seventh place, one can only imagine his joy when he learned of the disqualifications of the two Ferraris that propelled him to fifth place! A top 5 finish, something Haas, still in search of its first podium, has only managed to achieve six times since its entry into Formula 1 in 2016.
This underscores the magnitude of the Frenchman’s performance, who had left Melbourne (13th) particularly disappointed after a faultless race but also at the wheel of a lagging single-seater. In Shanghai, the result of Oliver Bearman, eighth in the end, added to the joy of the Normandy native. “Everyone on the team rolled up their sleeves,” he emphasized. “We knew there was more in the car, but it lifts a real weight off our shoulders to see that we can fight for these places when we optimize the car.”
The false start of the French at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne
Ayao Komatsu, the team principal of the American team, expressed the same joy. “What a response!” the Japanese man exclaimed, admiringly. “Everyone, in Italy, England, the USA, and at the track, stepped up. I am very happy for all the work put in. It won’t be like this every weekend, but we have shown that we are a real racing team.”
Ocon demonstrated that he had not lost his sense of attack. On the 14th lap, while engaged in a three-way battle with Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Antonelli just after the first (and ultimately only) pit stop, the former Alpine driver did not hesitate to put two wheels in the grass when the young (18 years old) Italian tried to close the door at the end of the long straight before the circuit’s biggest braking point. “It was a bit like rallying,” Ocon joked on the F1 TV set next to a laughing Bearman, who exclaimed, “Ah, now I understand why there was all that dust” upon seeing the cloud of dirt kicked up by the Frenchman’s Haas.
Esteban Ocon on Canal +
“In a straight line, we weren’t the best, so we had to go for it”
“It was hot from the inside,” Ocon had analyzed a little earlier on Canal +. “In a straight line, we weren’t the best, so we had to go for it. There was traffic and quite a few positions to take. I knew that if I gained a place at that moment, I could keep it for the rest of the race. I managed to get it, and on a Mercedes no less, so that was satisfying.”
After this muscular exchange, Ocon was able to maintain an excellent pace and keep his tires in good condition for a long time, which had long been the main weakness of the Haas, after changing strategy to switch, like most of the grid, to a single pit stop. This is the kind of performance that we did not imagine the VF-25 capable of given the result in Australia and that of the sprint race on Saturday, which ended more than 45 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton after 19 laps.
Notes from the Chinese Grand Prix: Piastri sovereign, Ocon rejuvenated, Ferrari punished
“We changed the settings by 90% and the car came to life on Saturday in qualifying,” noted Ocon. “Suddenly I felt more confident and I could attack more. But I think we can still improve.” It’s uncertain whether this will be the case for Japan in two weeks, where Haas has only managed to score points once, in 2018 with Romain Grosjean.
