Friday night's Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying confirmed Alpine's fears over starting the year on the back foot following a late car concept change this winter.
The Enstone team's fortunes are not expected to change dramatically until it can bring upgrades to its A524's base design, which could take five to six races.
It means both Frenchman await the unenviable task of keeping morale up at the beleaguered outfit off the back of an already turbulent 2023, which Ocon took up right from his Q1 in-lap.
"Only round one, only round one," he said on the team radio. "We keep pushing. There’s a race tomorrow as well. I’ve got faith in you guys."
When asked by Autosport how crucial it will be to be a patient leader through the early part of 2024, he replied: "Yeah, it's super important, for sure.
"We don't like the situation as a whole, no one likes to be at the back. We're all competitors in this team.
"And it's very important to be united, to keep the chin up and move forward.
"This team some years ago they created a winning car and those ideas were made in the same place as it is today, Viry and Enstone.
"So, we can be repeating all these things, and I trust the team to be making a step forward."
Source: Autosport