Ocon returns to scene of first GP win: 'It's a fun track'

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon expects to have an emotional weekend in Budapest as its where he won his first Formula 1 race in 2021.

In previewing this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, Ocon admitted it was going to be emotional to be back at the place where he won his maiden GP.

"I feel good, and it will be emotional to be back in Budapest for sure," Ocon said. "I can already feel all the memories of last year coming back."

"But that was last year, and we need to be fully focused as a team to deliver another solid weekend," Ocon added.

The first half of the 2022 F1 campaign has seen a battle between Alpine and McLaren in the constructors' championship. Alpine have edged ahead by four points and now sit in fourth place - plus after the race in Hungary, F1 has its summer break.

According to Ocon, it would be ideal for Alpine to cement fourth place going in to the summer break.

"It will be important to go into the shutdown with a feeling of having really cemented that fourth spot in the Constructors' Championship," Ocon said.

"We know it will be difficult, but we have the team and the tools to do just that," the 25-year-old insisted. "We will be giving it one last push before a well-earned break for the team who have worked incredibly hard all year.

"I do really enjoy the track and it's one of my favourites, and not just because I won there! I like the second sector and how fast and flowing it is. It seems you don't get a break from turn four to turn 11, and if your set-up is good that sequence of corners can feel really nice and make you feel like you're extracting the maximum from the car.

"It's a really fun track to drive," added Ocon.