F1 strategist says 27-year-old driver was ‘comically bad’ at taking blue flags

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There are plenty of skills required by all 20 drivers on the Formula 1 grid to succeed at the pinnacle of motorsport.

However, one that few drivers will have much experience with before entering the sport is blue flags, as drivers tend to dominate the junior series they race in before reaching F1.

Being lapped is a skill that backmarkers have to learn and this season, one driver in that group has experienced them an awful lot, although F1 strategist Ruth Buscombe has said on The Red Flags Podcast that it’s not his greatest strength.

The divide on the Formula 1 grid this season has meant that there are 10 – or sometimes 11 if you include Lance Stroll – cars looking over their shoulders as the race goes on waiting for Max Verstappen to catch up to them.

The grid is closer than ever in terms of pace even if no one can match Red Bull right now, which means unlike 10 or 20 years ago when back markers were being lapped four or five times a race sometimes, drivers are rarely lapped more than once these days.

Ruth Buscombe admits as part of her role in the sport she’s well aware of who is good at being lapped and who struggles with the technique.

She has suggested that Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is really poor at taking blue flags.

Considering he’s been lapped at every race this season except for the Grand Prix in Shanghai, he’s getting plenty of practice now.

READ MORE: Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Esteban Ocon was ‘comically bad’ at taking blue flags

It’s been a much more difficult season than expected for one-time race winner Esteban Ocon.

Alpine have gone from regularly challenging for points two seasons ago to dreaming of their first top-ten finish of the year after five races in 2024.

David Croft warned months before the season started that he had heard concerning things about the results in Alpine’s simulator before pre-season had begun.

Those concerns came to pass in Bahrain as Ocon and Pierre Gasly both went out in the first session of qualifying and ran nowhere near the points.

There have been some glimpses of hope for the team in recent weeks and the upgrades on Ocon’s car in China have brought them closer to their rivals at the back of the grid.

He finished in 11^th in Shanghai, narrowly missing out on points to Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg.

However, Ocon still has aspects of his driving that he can improve including how he deals with blue flags.

If he’s going to continue running near the back of the pack then it’s a skill he needs to continue working on.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Esteban Ocon still has work to do after 138 F1 Grand Prix

Asked who takes blue flags the worst, Ruth Buscombe said: “[Esteban] Ocon.

“So, something there’s just you can’t do much about it, but across a season, some drivers are good at taking good flags.

“I.e., they lose less time for a blue flag and they’re smart about where they take them.

“Sometimes if you get blue flagged and then you can get DRS for the next lap, which is like really good.

“And I appreciate it’s a very unsexy way to make positions but like positions it doth make.

“On a track like Austria for example, where points positions are lapped, like Silverstone we had a year where only the top three were on the lead lap.

“We always felt like when he was at Manor, he was like comically bad. He was just so polite.

“You need to be selfish but not ruin the race because then you’ll get a penalty and no one wants to ruin the racing. He would just brake!”

While Ocon might take blue flags the worst, Buscombe named a surprising driver who is the best at dealing with faster cars approaching them.

That’s a certain Marcus Ericsson, who didn’t have the best Formula 1 career but has gone on to show his talents in IndyCar.

It’s a part of motor racing that no driver wants to get good at considering it means you’re not challenging for podiums and wins any time soon.