Esteban Ocon has warned that Alpine could be "dangerous" under next season's regulations reset if the team continue to improve their pace. Despite switching focus to 2022 early, the French outfit - formerly known as Renault - enjoyed some strong results in 2021, with a high point coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix when Ocon took an unexpected first win in F1. Teammate Fernando Alonso also scored a podium finish later in the year at Qatar, and Ocon almost brought home a third for the squad at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix before Valtteri Bottas overtook him just metres from the finish line. Overall, Ocon is pleased with how Alpine have moved forward in recent months. "I think [the team have made] huge progress," Ocon told media including RacingNews365.com . "Everything we did inside [the team], operationally, taking strategy decisions, looking after the tyres, looking after the car itself, and getting the maximum out of it. "I think it's been huge progress, and I'm very pleased that we've done that this year. "Of course, we got two podiums, almost three, this season for the team, with a car that didn't perform as good as last year. I think we had not as good of a package. "But we've still managed to overcome these issues, get on top of it, and still score very decent results."
Prospects for 2022
Given the team's progression during the season, Ocon thinks that they could potentially pose a threat to their rivals in 2022. "We want to keep going," the Frechman explained. "And, as I said [previously], once we are going to have the pace, I think we're going to be quite dangerous." Ocon scored 74 points in 2021, putting him in 11th in the Drivers' standings, whilst Alonso finished narrowly ahead in 10th with 81 points to his name. As a team, Alpine secured fifth place in the Constructors' Championship with 155 points, 13 more than closest rivals AlphaTauri.
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