Formula 1 is doing a lot right at the moment, says alpine driver esteban ocon. He enthuses that the racing series has recently had a "fantastic" season development achieved.
"Of course: there are still things we could do better." but especially the 2021 formula 1 season has shown that the grand prix scene is on a good way to generate more public interest.
Ocon refers to the final race in abu dhabi in 2021 with the world championship decided in the last few meters in favor of max verstappen and says: "the last lap of the race sums up the whole season perfectly. It’s just crazy [in the races] right up to the last lap. It was like this again in 2020 and 2021."
"Formula 1 can overtake soccer in terms of excitement"
this unpredictability is good for formula 1, ocon continues, especially for teams from the broad midfield: "i can still remember 2017 and 2018. A sixth place felt like a victory. There was simply no chance of a podium place or even a leading lap."
This has changed a lot. Ocon mentions the surprise victories of alphatauri driver pierre gasly at monza in 2020 and mclaren driver daniel ricciardo at monza in 2021, also counting his own success at the hungary-grand-prix in 2021. "We’ve seen a lot of different cars on the podium", says ocon. "That’s great, and that’s exactly how it should be."
And he is confident that Formula 1 will become even more entertaining under the new technical regulations from 2022 onwards.
Ocon’s theory: "If the cars are closer together, Formula 1 can even overtake soccer in terms of excitement. Because everyone is talking about formula 1. I have friends who had not dealt with this before, but now they are all over it."
Formula 1 shows courage for "new formats, praises ocon
ocon also sees the courage of the responsible parties as positive "new formats" to try. The alpine driver thus alludes to the sprint races held for the first time in 2021.
This has opened up new opportunities for drivers and teams. "So we had a chance to fight, even though we weren’t actually fast enough for the top 10." this, too, has improved the formula 1 product, ocon says.
The hungarian winner will again start alongside former champion fernando alonso for the french alpine team in the 2022 season. What’s more, his Formula 1 contract has already been extended in 2021 for three more years up to and including 2024.
This article was written by stefan ehlen, co-authors: jonathan noble, luke smith
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