Esteban Ocon will start the Mexican Grand Prix from the pit lane after breaking Parc Ferme protocols to change two components on his Alpine machine.
The Frenchman qualified in P19 for Sunday’s race with only the struggling Sauber of Zhou Guanyu behind him. With four races still to go after the Mexican GP, Alpine deemed this the right time to add some new components to their pool.
With that in mind, a new energy store and control electronics were fitted to Ocon’s Alpine machine. In line with the FIA regulations, the 28-year-old will start the race from the pit lane.
The setback is the latest in a difficult run of races for Ocon. In Austin last weekend he was tagged by Williams driver Alex Albon amidst the Turn One melee, leaving him facing the wrong direction and effectively ending his race.
With his future sitting elsewhere with Haas and Pierre Gasly marked out as the man to lead Alpine forward, Ocon’s form has tailed off in the second half of the season.
After recording back-to-back points finishes in Monaco and Barcelona, his form looked promising, but Ocon has scored just one top-10 finish in his last nine Grand Prix starts ahead of this evening’s Mexican GP.
There is some positive news for the future Haas star though. He has the same upgrades as his team-mate at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez after they were withheld for Gasly in Austin.
“I think they clearly worked, especially in qualifying yesterday, so there is something positive to take from it this weekend,” he explained after last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
“It’s up to us to make the most of it until the end of the season. Now, we’ll see next week where we stand and if I can also benefit from the improvements.”
