Ocon: Talking to Abiteboul helped me

Esteban Ocon says talks with Cyril Abiteboul before the races helped him adjust to Formula 1 faster after a year-long break.

Last season, Ocon felt that it was not delivering everything it could and that it could not immediately get used to the new Renault car. The fact that Daniel Ricciardo, one of the best drivers on the grid, was next to him didn't help either. Still, Ocon finished second at the Sakhira GP and gave his team a third podium of the season.

Fernando Alonso will join his team next year.

“I didn’t feel the pressure of the results,” he commented on the race in Sakhir.

“Just before the race, I talked to Cyril and I can say that he was full of support and always positive even in difficult moments. He always gave me good advice, and when something like that comes from the boss just before the race, then you are much more relaxed and believe in yourself. ”

Abiteboul told him that anything is possible in the race, although they expected a lot from that weekend, and in the qualifiers he managed to be only in 11th position:

“We didn’t have a great Saturday, but he came up to me and told me this was going to be an interesting race and we had an interesting strategy. He said he knew I would have a good race, be patient and the result would come. "

"I did not feel the pressure, but obviously, the result came. I hope the team now knows that they can rely on me in difficult times. ”

Ocon, like Sainz, stressed the importance of a multi-year contract that gives the driver the reassurance that he doesn’t have to prove himself to keep his seat:

“It is very important to know what will happen to you in the future. It's important to be stable in your head and know that you can build something with the team you drive for. ”

“If you have limited time it’s not good. You don’t have time to progress and collaborate with the people around you. We’ve seen that it’s not easy to change teams, even for drivers who have been in the race longer. In addition, I had a one-year break, so I had to regain my speed and learn to work with the team. ”

"Now I'm definitely aiming for what Daniel did in his second year - to take a step forward and continue the progress we started this year. That is definitely the goal. Therefore, it is important to know that you have stability and a certain future. ”