Esteban Ocon bemoaned two strategic blunders that cost Haas crucial points in the Constructors’ Championship in the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix.
Both Haas drivers started the 44-lap race at Spa-Francorchamps on the cusp of the top 10, having secured a vital double-points finish in the Sprint Race.
Ocon, who started 11th, revealed how a peculiar tyre choice, plus a botched strategy, handicapped him in the midfield battle as he dropped down to 15th.
While the majority of the grid pitted between Laps 11 and 12 to swap to slicks as a dry line had formed, Haas left Ocon on waning Intermediates until Lap 13.
“I think there are two very crucial decisions that we didn’t do in the right way,” Ocon told media including Motorsport Week.
“We need to review as a team because we had the pace today to score with both cars.
“Once we got going and everything was normal, the pace was there. So, it’s a big shame. The first one obviously, yes, was boxing two laps too late.”
The Frenchman then divulged how the team decided to service him with a used set of Medium tyres that further impeded his charge up the field in a delayed and interchangeable race.
“We need to review these last two races because I feel, you know, when it’s wet we don’t put things together,” conceded the 28-year-old.
“And then the other thing was boxing onto a used set of tyres while we had a new one in the truck ready for us.
“So, I did basically my 35 laps on a used set of tyres while we had a new set of Medium ready for us in the race. So, yeah, that’s a big and costly mistake.”
Ocon’s team-mate, Oliver Bearman, who pitted a lap before the Frenchman, was employing a higher downforce set-up owing to the rain forecast.
But the FIA’s decision to delay the race for 80 minutes to allow for the weather to clear up and yet another strategic blunder cost the team points.
Haas currently sits ninth in the Constructors championship, only eight points away from Sauber in sixth.
“The team boxed him [Bearman] one lap too late and they boxed me two laps too late in that sense,” Ocon surmised.
“We should have both been on the earlier side basically. And if we would have done that, I think today would have been a different story. So, yeah.
“So, we will review everything, you know, if I need to give more information in the future.
“But they have a very clear process on who takes decisions and what into the team. And, you know, I believe that I did what I needed to do.”
The engine issue that blighted Bearman
Bearman was briefly running in the points, showcasing the outright pace of the VF-25.
That said, he concurred with his team-mate about the miscalculation the pit wall made in deciding the correct switchover point.
The likes of Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg stopped on Lap 11 with Bearman called into the pits a lap later.
Eventually, Gasly rounded off the final points paying position in 10th as Bearman slotted in right behind him in 11th.
“Incredibly frustrating, I think the main frustration, you know, we did box a lot too late from the Intermediates to the Slicks and got undercut by a few guys, but it happens, you know, it’s one of those where it’s really difficult to judge,” he examined.
To add insult to injury, the Briton’s Ferrari power unit seemingly gave up on him midway into the race, and Bearman couldn’t make up the deficit afterwards.
“Honestly, from my side, I didn’t really give much feedback also on the track because I was nursing a problem with the engine,” he continued.
“I was struggling with my battery charge and everything. Then after the stops, I was an P10 just behind Hulkenberg and then coming out of the last corner, I had no power, the engine went to limbo and I lost three spots to Gasly, to Alonso, to Yuki as well.
“Then I spent the whole race just pissed off and trying to catch it back, but it’s impossible to overtake here.”
READ MORE – Why the decision to delay F1 Belgian GP ‘surprised’ Red Bull
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