F1 2024 fireworks expected as star declares 'war mode' in warning to team
Esteban Ocon promised he will be in "war mode" for the 2024 season after losing out to Pierre Gasly this term.
Despite being the driver most familiar with the team, Ocon finished one place and four points below Gasly in their first season together at Alpine. Bad luck, though, was a significant factor as the former experienced plenty of it over the course of the campaign.
Ocon suffered seven DNFs from 22 races which hampered his progress, while Gasly had a cleaner year in that regard. There were still some highlights, though, such as his Monaco podium and a stellar drive from 16th on the grid to fourth in Las Vegas.
He is using those moments as motivation for the patch forward. And the 27-year-old vowed to take an extra level of focus into the 2024 campaign to make up for his missed opportunities this year.
"From January 2 until the first test I will be back fully into training camp. I'm going to be more doing the way I was doing it in 2022, which is no life, flat out, only racing. We've been doing a lot of different things and activations outside the track this year.
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"That's going to change next year. It's back to war mode and fully focused on the racing side. Before that there's going be the Christmas party of the team, there's going be some simulator work.
"I'm going be able to have a couple of days seeing my family that I haven't seen for a while. We're going to have some good times with friends, with Mick [Schumacher], with all my friends in December as well, and then it's fully focused on next year."
It remains to be seen what effect an extra-determined Ocon will have on the dynamic within the team. Predictions of civil war at Alpine this year between childhood friends-turned-rivals did not come true, though there were a few minor flashpoints between the Frenchmen.
Gasly admitted last month that they are not friends and that he was concerned about how he would be treated by Ocon. "I was a little worried about how he would welcome me and work with me. I've known Esteban since a long time, so I know how we work," he said.
"We have different personalities - we're just two different types of people, but ultimately I think we've been working really well. I think we understood the responsibility. My main concern was to work well with him, to make sure that we extract the maximum of the car, maximum out of the team, and that we are both pushing in the same direction.
"There's always going to be a healthy rivalry, one wanting to beat the other... We don't spend much time together, but when we get to the track, then we are at work. We are mature, responsible and we are delivering. In terms of a working relationship, it's very formal between us, but that's all I can ask because at the end of the day, I just want to be competitive. I know Esteban won't invite me for dinner, but I'm fine with that."
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