Esteban Ocon says that Luca de Meo’s recent visit to Enstone to boost Alpine’s troops showed the Renault Group CEO’s care for its F1 project.
De Meo visited Alpine’s UK base after the Japanese Grand Prix and addressed the team’s personnel in what was described as an “electro shock” speech.
Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were present at Enstone and witnessed the Italian’s communication which was a blend of constructive critique and encouragement.
"I was having performance meetings on that day. Obviously, yes, I attended that speech of Luca,” said Ocon in Qatar on Thursday.
"Luca came in to reaffirm and motivate everyone inside the factory. It was good that he visited us. He replied to a lot of questions as well from everyone.
"Of course, there's things we that need to improve. We are on that way to be doing that and I'm sure that we are going to be able to achieve it in the future."
De Meo’s intervention has come at a point in time when Alpine is searching for stability after the run of disruptions that marked its summer.
In July, former Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi was moved aside and assigned to a ‘special projects’ division at Renault while team boss Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane also relinquished their respective roles after they found themselves at odds with de Meo over Alpine’s timeline to success.
Asked why de Meo waited until last week to galvanize Alpine’s troops, Ocon said that it’s never too late or too early for a leader to step in to deliver an insightful motivational speech.
"I think it's always a good thing to see a boss coming into the factory, stepping in the doors and just motivating everyone,” he said.
"It's a great thing showing that the plan with Formula 1 is completely within Alpine. That really shows how much he cares about the project. It's always the right time.
"There's no bad or good times, it's always the right time."
Alpine currently sits sixth in F1’s Constructors’ standings, well adrift from the fourth-place position it had targeted at the start of its 2023 campaign.
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