Esteban Ocon eyes a good tandem work with Daniel Ricciardo at Renault during 2020 F1 season as the Frenchman returns to the sport.
As he looks ahead to his 2020 F1 season with Renault, Mercedes junior Ocon is expecting a banterous and fun year in tandem with Australian teammate Ricciardo, who has been known for being one of the more playful drivers of the crop.
Additionally, Ocon discussed how he intends to follow Ricciardo’s performances and running in the remaining week of testing, due to the fact that he is returning from a hiatus and may be rusty. “We’ve been starting to work together, of course,” he said.
“It was our first week working on track, but off track it was really good fun to be honest to work with him. He’s a cool bloke. So I think it’s gonna be a fun year, and hopefully we’re going to be able to push ourselves to make a better order on the grid.
“I am not closer than normal to him, just as I would normally do, to see what the other guy’s doing and how it’s progressing, because they are taking over from what we did and vice-versa, so the team are just moving forward.”
It will be a rivalry to be watched as Ocon has had a history with his teammate the last time he raced in F1. Even though he lost against Sergio Perez at Racing Point in terms of drivers’ standings, the Frenchman showed his grit and aggression in full gusto.
Meanwhile, when asked about his past cars, Ocon revealed some differences he experienced between his new Renault R.S.20 and the Mercedes W10, as the latter was the car he drove as a test driver in the 2019 F1 season.
“There are always differences,” he said. “But to be honest, the amount of grip there is this year already, I think if you take it in account the fastest lap time, we’re already faster than the fastest lap time of last year first day.
“So I think the cars are just evolving year-by-year. It’s hard to compare but the amount of grip I feel now I think I’ve never felt it before.” It will be a crucial year for Ocon as he pushed hard to make a mark of his own after a tough forced hiatus.
Here’s Esteban Ocon on how he is pushing during testing
Here’s the details from first F1 test
The story was co-written by Darshan Chokhani
