Renault’s Esteban Ocon says it was shocking to know that F1 Australian GP was cancelled after one member of McLaren was tested positive for COVID-19.
In his column for the F1 official website, Renault’s Ocon revealed about the moment he came to know that the Australian GP was cancelled due to positive test which was a ‘big shock’ for him, as despite the threats, the Frenchman was trying to focus on the job.
It was to be a big moment for Ocon at Melbourne as he gearing up for his F1 return with Renault after spending a year out with Mercedes in 2019. Even though the Frenchman says it was a shock, he was spotted wearing a big protective mask in the paddock.
“In all honesty, I found Australia pretty strange,” wrote Ocon. “I decided to wear a mask when I arrived and left the track on Thursday. It was well over 450 days since I last arrived at a race weekend in preparation for a race and I wanted to take every measure possible to not miss out, it’s been too long.
“I’ve trained this whole time and I wanted to be as strong as possible. So I thought it would be best to be cautious with what’s happening and be sensible for others. Of course, it’s out of all our hands with what’s going on, but I wanted to make sure I was doing all I could to be ready. I didn’t want anything stopping me from racing again.
“I did, however, do a couple of laps of the circuit in a Renault, just not my Number 31 Formula 1 car! Driving the Megane Trophy R was the best part of the week! You can watch me in the video above. I had a lot of fun. I have one at home, so I know how cool it is to drive and on track it’s another beast, so that was nice.
“It was quite a shock to receive the news when I woke up on Friday to be leaving the race. I went to sleep quite early on the Thursday night. When I woke up, I was about to go in the shower and I saw tonnes of messages from Cyril and many other people saying someone from McLaren had tested positive and the race was compromised. It was a big shock.
“I was half asleep, half-awake, so it was tricky to fully understand the situation. We did a lot of preparation, we had everything set to be arriving at the track on Friday with meetings, jumping in the suit and getting ready for FP1. I was a bit disconnected with what was going on as I was just focusing on getting ready for the race weekend.
“It was definitely a shock but, in the end, the health of everyone is the most important thing. I left Australia to be with my family and friends in Normandy, France. In these moments it’s important to stay close to your family. All together we are stronger. We are in quarantine in France and we are staying at home.
“It’s a strange atmosphere; the streets are empty, there is no sound in the morning. You can hear the birds and nature more than anything else. It’s a point where you feel the world changing. Hopefully after some weeks doing that, we can enjoy even more the taste of being free,” summed up Ocon.
Ocon is latest to share his views after Haas’ Romain Grosjean opened up about the Australian GP as well. Since then, the 2020 F1 season has been deferred to until June mid after Azerbaijan GP was also postponed, with Canadian GP to take place on June 14.
It is still not a 100 percent at this stage but F1 has brought forward the summer shutdown to open up August. The drivers, meanwhile, are doing their bit to spend time at home. Ocon noted that he has been doing sim work on Gran Turismo.
Aside that – as also posted on his Instagram – Ocon is playing remote-controlled car games as well, which he used to post about even during winter. The training programme continues as well, as is the case with all the other F1 drivers.
Here’s Daniel Ricciardo on Instagram Live
Here’s McLaren confirming that all have returned home
Here’s Pirelli notifying on 13-inch and 18-inch tyres