F1 | Esteban Ocon and the rivalry with Max Verstappen

Being without a seat in 2019 was not at all easy for Esteban Ocon. The Renault driver spoke about himself on the F1 website, starting from his battles in the minor series up to his adventure with the big boys in Formula One. A very important step concerns the rivalry with Max Verstappen, of which everyone remembers the clash on the track at Interlagos 2018 and the shoving of the Dutchman after the race. “I think the first time I raced with Max Verstappen was in 2010”, he wrote on the F1 website.

“Max and I were always quite close on the track and sometimes we got too close! In 2011 we were fighting for the series world championship and in the end he won. I remember that in a race in Italy I took the lead, but he and I were much further ahead than the others. It was a rivalry that started then and soon became even bigger.".

“Max started to get strong and challenged me for wins and suddenly he was the guy to beat. We had something called triple record in which to win all the races in one weekend. Verstappen did it twice at Spa and the Norisring and then I did it in Moscow at the next round! In that race in Moscow he came close and we banged the wheels a couple of times, just like in the old karting days”.

“I won the title in Formula 3, but the difficult moment for me was when Max signed an agreement to race in Formula 1. Good for him, but when I heard the news it was difficult. He was third in the championship, I was winning and at that moment I didn't have a place in any category."

“I did some tests in GP2, but there was nothing really confirmed. The Lotus F1 junior program was struggling at the time and I was going nowhere. It was quite a challenging time but I used it as motivation. I knew that I had to work hard and keep myself at the top of the junior categories if I wanted to get to Formula 1"