Esteban Ocon aims for the GP3 title
Esteban Ocon welcomed us in the paddock to talk about his start to the season in GP3 and his ambitions for the future.
The first weekend for the young French driver was ideal as he continued the momentum from his very successful past season, which crowned him F3 champion. He qualified in second position before winning his first race in the category: “The first weekend went really well. I missed the pole by very little, but then I was able to win the first race.”
On the occasion of the Red Bull Ring event, things went less smoothly as he lost his third place due to non-compliance of his car: “For the second meeting, it was more complicated. I missed the pole again and then I suffered more from tire degradation. And then I lost third place because of the team’s mistake. But these things happen and I know it won’t happen again.”
This is therefore a mixed initial assessment given by the ART Grand Prix driver: “It’s not the dream start to the season. It’s a good start because I have the pace over one lap in qualifying. But I need to improve on tire management.”
Above all, the loss of podium points allows Luca Ghiotto to widen the gap in the championship, as 22 points now separate the two men before the British round. The GP3 title is clearly the priority of the season for the young Frenchman: “Clearly, my goal for the season is the title.”
The other news about Esteban Ocon is that he has moved from the Lotus young driver development program to the Mercedes program. But on a daily basis, it doesn’t have a big impact on his physical preparation: “I kept my physical trainer in the Pyrenees. So at that level, it doesn’t change much. However, the integration is not the same since I am also part of the DTM program.”
As such, he is at the heart of all the official team’s briefings in the German touring championship and is preparing for the possibility of having to take over from one of the regular drivers: “I am part of all the briefings and debriefings after the sessions. I have access to the radio. So I am fully integrated into the team. I can also do laps with the demo car, which gives me experience with the car. It’s important since testing is also limited there.”
Speaking of testing, he had the opportunity to drive the Sahara Force India during the last private tests in Austria, where he was able to test the famous version B: “It always feels good to drive in F1. The car has really improved compared to Barcelona.”
Beyond this season, the question arises of whether to follow the traditional path from GP3 to GP2 or to follow the path that Mercedes seems to favor, namely moving through competition in DTM, as was the case for Paul di Resta or Pascal Wehrlein… but “it’s still far too early to think about that. For now, I still have the entire GP3 season to finish well. We’ll see after that for the rest.”
From our special correspondent in Silverstone
