Esteban Ocon has always been present on the F1 starting grid from 2016 to today, with one exception: the 2019. At the end of the previous season, in fact, his relationship with Racing Point as an official driver was interrupted, with the Frenchman who did not find other agreements to be able to continue his experience in the top flight regularly. The only option was to accept the role of third driver offered by Mercedes. However, despite the guarantee of a job behind the wheel of a single-seater, it was not easy for the transalpine to adapt to a role from behind the scenes, and therefore for the first time without being included in a real race weekend.
A sensation that Ocon himself told today after two years in the podcast Beyond The Gridduring which he confessed all the difficulties experienced in that period: “It was definitely tough – admitted the winner of the last Hungarian GP – psychologically I have experienced some very bad times. For example, I had gone to Australia for the first race of 2019 to do a rather important test program, I would have had to drive the car for quite a while. However, once I arrived in Melbourne I was told that I would not be driving the car for the next six months. I remember leaving the circuit, getting into the rental car and leaving crying in the parking lot. So, there were really tough times. I don’t struggle to fall asleep, but I remember that that night was not the best “.
However, despite the complexities of those moments, Ocon wanted to thank Mercedes for the way they integrated him into the team throughout 2019, expressing special gratitude for James Vowles and Toto Wolff before his return to F1 at the wheel of the Renault, today Alpine: “I was very well followed – he added – they took care of me and tried to find solutions. Toto was very clear. He told me I would be driving in 2020. I asked him why he was so safe and he replied to rest assured, I would have my place. I didn’t want to believe him, because I didn’t want to delude myself. But in the end it really happened: I had the chance to ride in 2020, and it was the beginning of something new for me ”.
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