Esteban Ocon was pleased to finish in the points in the first race on the amended 2020 calendar at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. He qualified in fourteenth place, but was able to work his way up to eighth position by the time the chequered flag dropped.
“It felt good to be back racing properly today. Finishing in the points is a great result, especially as I’m still a little rusty!” said the Frenchman.
He recognises that the team still have work to do to make improvements to their qualifying performance if they want to be able to start further up the grid, adding there were many positives to take from the weekend, despite it only being the first grand prix of the year, and is confident they will be able to improve as the season progresses.
He said: “I’m satisfied with how the race went, but we know we need to qualify better in order to be further up the order. Our race pace was good, and I was happy with how the car felt.”
Ocon went on to say that between this weekend and next, when they will return to the circuit for the Styrian Grand Prix, he and the team will review this race and see if they are any elements that could be improved to benefit them in the future.
He suggested that their return to the circuit will provide them with an opportunity for them to better their result from this weekend, aiming for higher positions in qualifying which in turn can be transformed into more points come race day.
“We’ll review the race and see what we can rectify and improve for next weekend. We know there will be an opportunity to fight for higher positions and I’m really looking forward to the next race,” he said.
