Ocon compares F1 cars to go-karts: 'Now multiple overtaking opportunities per lap'

According to Esteban Ocon, racing the new generation of Formula 1 cars is a bit like karting. The Alpine driver says the new rules have created a "completely different philosophy" of racing. Meanwhile, teammate Fernando Alonso looks ahead to the upcoming races.

Ocon was involved in a number of intense duels during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Frenchman went into battle with teammate Alonso and the team let the drivers do quite a bit in the process, but eventually they intervened from the pit wall. Later, Ocon got into a fight with Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris.

So far, the new rules seem to be doing their job, after some exciting battles were seen in the first two races of the season. Ocon says he enjoyed all his duels at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. "It was a lot of fun, pretty much like a kart race," he said afterwards according to The Race.

Whereas in the past there was often only one chance to make an overtaking attempt, now there are two or three per lap according to Ocon. "You need to make the gap at the right time and you know that if you don’t make the gap to the cars behind they are gonna have DRS and get you back," he explains.

Teammate Alonso is already looking ahead to the upcoming races and wonders if overtaking will also be easier there than before. "In Melbourne we have a lot of DRS, so we could have another interesting race," says the Spaniard. As for the races after that, however, he has yet to see.