"It's not time to relax" - Alpine's Esteban Ocon sounds warning bell in fight against McLaren

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon does not think it's time to take his foot off the pedal in the constructor championship.

The French driver's team hold a 7-point advantage over McLaren (146) in a hotly contested battle for P4. The intense battle will likely go down to the wire between the two teams, and Ocon is not going to relax before the season ends. He said:

"It's been a very long season. A lot has happened. But it's not time to relax. We will relax after the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi. Yeah, it's going to be tight until the end, of course. McLaren were quick in Mexico, and they tend to be quick, you know, through the year. We had our ups and downs as well. But hopefully, this weekend is going to be up."

Reflecting on his third season with Alpine, the French driver sounded happy with how the season has unfolded. He said:

"Yeah, I think it's been a good season, from where we started. You know, we were obviously looking at trying to improve the car, trying to get more pace out of it. And we clearly developed extremely well, during the season, a long time in the season as well."

He continued:

"And all the upgrades that we were bringing were massive steps in general. And this is still what we need to keep going, for next year. We are still not in the position to be in the top five all the time, but we've touched it at times. And this is what we need to keep going more consistently."

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Alpine's Esteban Ocon looking forward to racing in Sao Paulo

The Alpine driver had his first race in Sao Paulo in 2016 in a Manor. He almost scored points for the team in torrential conditions. The driver has performed well at the track over the years and is looking forward to racing this weekend. Ocon said:

"I love coming to Brazil, and it is true that the iconic Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace has created some great races over the years. I know this is always a special one for many drivers, and it is usually an exciting weekend where the passionate and knowledgeable racing fans bring a sort of carnival-like atmosphere to the track."

He added:

"The layout in Sao Paulo is a short one with some challenging corners and some quite important changes in elevation, including the final run to the start, finish straight. It presents a good challenge for everyone with some very technical sections requiring a well-balanced car and a high level of skill from the drivers. I look forward to getting back out there!"

It will be interesting to see how the Alpine vs McLaren battle unfolds this weekend.