The opening two rounds of the season in Bahrain and Jeddah confirmed what pre-season testing had suggested, as Alpine struggled at the back of the field with the slowest car.
In the latter race, from 17th on the grid, Ocon passed Sauber's Valtteri Bottas at the start and, after the safety car period, he ran in the group delayed by Kevin Magnussen which also included Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon.
Ocon eventually finished 12th, but denied any suggestion that the result indicated real progress on Alpine's part, and suggested that only "opportunistic" circumstances had put him in a group of faster cars.
"I think an opportunistic race, that's how we should call it," Ocon said. "I think we were up to P10 at some point virtually, because Kevin had the penalty.
"We navigated our way through and fought our way through and there were a lot of battles. But in the end it was just not enough. We were up to a point that we couldn't keep. Basically we were faster than what the car could do in the end, and we went backwards towards the end.
"So it's very clear what we need to improve for the next races now. Racing more with the other guys it was easier to spot than in Bahrain.
"We're going to keep digging, keep pushing, and I'm going to be in the factory [this week], so I'm going to keep pushing to find solutions with the guys."
Source: Autosport