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F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm is impressed by Esteban Ocon's performance at the 2023 F1 Monaco GP. The French driver finished third in the Principality. He kept his head down and managed to keep out of the barriers during the chaotic race.
Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Scott explained how it was one of those moments when a driver from a top midfield team has a great feeling in a car and gives strong competition to the top teams. Furthermore, Esteban Ocon was great in qualifying and progressively went quicker as the track evolved.
The F1 pundit stated:
"Yeah, I'm very impressed with Ocon this weekend. Just one of those weekends in which we've seen it a few times from different drivers in Monaco, where a driver in one of the more upper midfield teams has a good feeling.
"The car's competitive, and they grow in confidence. And Ocon was almost like the poster boy for that track evolution and the unpredictability of qualifying and especially Q3."
Furthermore, Scott mentioned how there were several other factors that also helped Esteban Ocon stay in third place. Firstly, Charles Leclerc's grid penalty allowed Ocon to jump up to third position, and secondly, Sergio Perez's horrendous crash in Q1 also left a space in the top three places.
He said:
"Because obviously Alonso being in the mix, we all kind of thought that might happen, and the Ferraris as well, and then when Ocon was suddenly up there, it's just like you can't predict anything from this, so the pure one-lap pace was very impressive.
"And there was that phase when he started when he was running in the top three, having obviously benefited from Leclerc's grid penalty."
However, the F1 pundit assured that these factors were not the only reason why the Alpine driver was in third. He praised Ocon's raw speed during qualifying and his robust drive on Sunday, which made the podium finish possible.
He said:
"Okay, there's been one or two things that have boosted him into that position, that grid penalty, Perez's crash, but Ocon wasn't in that top-three place by luck, he was there because of his raw speed on Saturday."
Esteban Ocon delighted after 2023 F1 Monaco GP
Esteban Ocon was ecstatic after finishing on the podium in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP. He praised Alpine for not putting a foot wrong and improving the car gradually.
During the post-race media interaction, he hailed:
"Estie bestie is on the podium baby! We've done it. What a superb weekend from everyone at the team. We improved the car from beginning to end and we didn't make a wrong step at any time - even when we put the inters on, it was the perfect lap."
Even during the downpour, Esteban Ocon was able to control the car brilliantly while other drivers around him were making mistakes. Hence, he was able to secure third place. He is currently in ninth place with 21 points in the drivers' championship table.
