Despite the title, Ocon was disappointed: "Because Verstappen got a seat"
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Esteban Ocon has a seat in the Formula 1 again this year at Renault F1, after having to watch from the pitbox for a year. In a column on the official website of Formula 1 the Frenchman looks back on his route towards Formula 1, and of course his rivalry with Max Verstappen in the stepping stone classes will also be discussed.
Due to the corona crisis, Ocon's return is taking a lot longer than planned. The Frenchman has to be patient, together with his colleagues, before he can race again against the guys he also met on the racetrack in his teens. Max Verstappen is one of them. They rode against each other regularly with enough spectacle as a result.
Champion in 2014
Ocon became champion in Formula 3 for Verstappen but still had a hard time. The Frenchman had a hard time accepting that the Dutchman went one step up while he was the champion. "After a few races Verstappen came on and suddenly he was the one you had to beat. I won the title in Formula 3 but it was hard for me that Verstappen had signed a deal in Formula 1. Well done from him but when I saw that news I had a hard time accepting it. He was third while I won, and I didn't have a seat in any category at the time".
In the years leading up to the Formula 3 season the two competitors also ran into each other: "The first time I drove against him (Verstappen) was in 2010. We were always close and sometimes we touched each other. In 2011 we fought for the championship (karting) and he won it in the end".
Ocon goes back to a race where it turned out that the two were clearly better than the rest of the field and their duel began "I can remember a race in Italy where Max and I drove way ahead of the rest. I managed to win that race, but that's where the rivalry started".