For Esteban Ocon, the Mexican Grand Prix won’t go down as one of his favourite races of the 2016 Formula 1 season.
The Manor Racing MRT driver struggled all weekend with the way his MRT05 was handling, and he started the Grand Prix in twentieth and was unable to fight for positions, ultimately seeing the chequered flag in twenty-first for the Banbury-based outfit.
Sunday was not as bad as the rest of the weekend for the Frenchman, but being unable to overcome the problems, he was just glad he made it to the finish.
“Mexico won’t go down as one of my favourite races of the season so far,” said Ocon. “Which is a shame, because it’s a great track and an amazing Formula 1 venue.
“Actually today was not as bad as the rest of the weekend by comparison, but we never really did overcome the problems we have experienced with the way my car was handling. In the end, I was just glad we made it to the finish.”
With two Grand Prix left until the end of the season, Ocon is hopeful these problems he experienced at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez were specific to this event, but he believes the team need to make sure they are in a more stable position to finish higher up.
“I hope the problems of the weekend were specific to this event,” added Ocon. “With a bit more investigation I’m sure we can understand them a little better and things will be back to normal for Brazil.
“This was a tense race for the team. There was nothing more I could have done today, especially as 20 other cars finished the race, so we need to make sure that in the next two races we’re in a more stable position and better placed to create or respond to opportunities.”
