Ocon was embroiled in💙 several intense 𒁃duels during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Frenchman went head-to-head with Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso before scraps with Valtteri Bottas and then McLaren’s Lando Norris at the end of🐭 the race.

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For 2022, F1 introduced entirely new technical regulation🦩s in a bid to im🐎prove wheel-to-wheel racing and to allow cars to follow each other more closely.

So far, the rules appear to have worked with both races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia having in🦂tense battles for the lead between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

Speaking after the race in Jeddah, Ocon said: “It was good racing with Lando, good racing with Fernando, Valtteri, it’s a completely different philosophy now racing with these cars, it’s pretty much like ꦗa go-kart race, it’s good fun, fighting with Fernando also, very closely, very close all sessions this weekend, in qualifying less than a tenth separating us, going to be close all year but that pushes the team performance up.”

Explaining his go-k𒀰arting comparison further, Ocon added: “Yeah before basically as soon as you had a chance you had to go for it as you might only have one chance. 

“Now you have two or three chances in the lap to overtake, so you need to time it right, m🎉ake the gap at the right time, and you know if you don’t make the gap to the car behind they are going to have D𒅌RS and can get you back. It’s a different philosophy to racing, more like go-kart days, it’s good.”

Cur🤪rent F1 championship leader Charles Leclerc believes it is “definitely a step forward compared to last year in terms of following.”

“But it is definitely a step forward compared to last ye🦩ar in terms of following,” Leclerc added. “The balance of the car is much more predictable, compared to last year's car where it was very difficult to understand whether you will lose the front, or the rear being behind. 

“This helps us to havꦜe 🦩the confidence, to actually push behind someone and to be a bit closer.”

Reigning world champion Verstappen thinksও the tyre𓆉s are still a big factor in whether drivers can race each other easily or not.

“I think the cars are better to follow, it just depends on the tyre,”  Verstappen explained. “    Like the hard tyre was capable of followi꧅ng closer, the other compounds – and this depends on the track – but they just fall apart. Like, as soon as you follow for a few laps, they just open up.

 “And I think it's also a little bit of a thing … probably tyres, but also the weight of the car pushes you over the tyre edge. So, ܫthis is something we need to look🔴 at for the future.

 “Because yeah, we improved the following with the cars, and I think probably the racing, but if the tyres don't let you, due to whatever reason, if it's the weight of the actual car, that’s a bit of a shame, because in the first stint, I think we could have actually raced a bit more if the tyre didn't die.” 

Will Albert Park see more overtaking on Sunday?

F1 returns to Albert Park in M⛄elbourne for the first time since 2019 this weekend as it plays host to the Australian Grand Prix.

Since th♋en, the circuit has undergone significant modifications as it looks to improve the racing as historically, it's been very difficult to overtake🅠 in Melbourne.

Turns 1, 2 and 6 have all been widened, while th🐼e old Turn 9/10 chicane has been removed and replaced by a flat-out section down to the 𝐆fast left-right hander.

The penultimate corner, as well as the pit lane, have als𓄧o been modified. 

Alons🦹o is still reserving judgemen﷽t on F1's new rules as he believes the racing was more specific to Jeddah and the three DRS zones.

“It was okay, a bit easier than last year as you can follow closer,” Alonso explained. Melbourne has lots of DRS zones as well so we could have another interesting race but then we need 🐭to wait for normal races, Barcelona, Imola, to see how easy or difficult it is to overtake, I think this is a ve♌ry specific track.”