P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ocon: Reduced opportunity for points among bottom five F1 teams "worst feeling"
In its transition to the new A524 chassis, the French F1 team has fallen in the pecking order, struggling to challenge for points like last season. The performance gap between the top five teams and the rest now requires bottom teams to hope for retirements to score points. After the top five teams dominated the Bahrain opener, Haas and Hulkenberg’s unexpected points finish in Saudi Arabia showed a possible breakthrough. Drivers like Ocon find it frustrating when good races don’t result in points due to performance differences, but they remain determined to improve and close the gap. Ricciardo remains optimistic, believing that certain tracks can shake up the pecking order, as seen in past examples like the Mexican Grand Prix. Bottas suggested expanding points positions beyond the top 10 considering the current performance spread, but believes upcoming rule changes might naturally mix up the field.
