'Underrated Ocon' does well at Alpine: "It was just perfect"

Esteban Ocon faced a tough assignment in the Japanese Grand Prix. With Lewis Hamilton right behind him, it did not look like he would retain his position, but he still managed to do so. Christian Klien watched the French driver's performance with great respect.

Ocon started the race in fifth place with Hamilton right behind him. With Carlos Sainz dropping out, all drivers moved up one place, but that was all Hamilton could do. Indeed, the Brit did not manage to beat Ocon.

"It was just perfect," states the former Formula 1 driver in the F1 Nation Podcast. "Lewis Hamilton was for sure quicker at that point of the race and obviously missing some of the top speeds, so therefore his positioning of the car, reading what Lewis Hamilton was going to do, was just perfect and he didn’t crack under pressure."

Due to the heavy rain, race control decided not to give permission for DRS, which suited Ocon well. At the same time, Klien feels that many people underestimate the driver's qualities and that he is therefore doing quite well at Alpine. In the world championship, he is eighth with 78 points, giving him 13 points more than Fernando Alonso.