By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief
With confidence restored, Esteban Ocon has sights set on a strong showing for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old Frenchman endured a rough start to the 2018 Formula 1 season, scoring a lone point (Bahrain) through the opening five races, which included two retirements – both uncharacteristic considering last year he only had two results outside the top 10. However, he rebounded to put in an astounding top class drive when he finished sixth at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Now, he readies for a return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a site that saw his display a similar sixth-place effort a year ago.
“I am feeling very happy after Monaco,” Ocon said. “It’s great to finally get a good result after a few difficult races and I feel my season has only truly started now. We have taken some good steps forward since the start of the season and I am looking forward to more races like the one we had in Monaco.
“The Montreal circuit is definitely one of my favorite tracks and it’s a fantastic event. The atmosphere in the city is great: the whole of Montreal becomes a giant motorsport festival. You feel the energy and excitement everywhere in the city.”
Part of the appeal of the 2.709-mile, 13-turn circuit for the No. 31 Sahara Force India pilot is final section, which features one of the trickiest chicanes in all of racing.
“I always say I like chicanes and that’s almost all you have in Montreal,” added Ocon, who currently sits 13th in the championship standings.
“It’s a challenging and very technical track and I really enjoy driving on it. My favorite corner is the final chicane, with the Wall of Champions so close to you. It’s a very tricky corner and it’s very easy to get it wrong.
“Last year we had a really good weekend in Montreal, fighting with the Ferraris and coming away with a good result. We seem to do well on tracks like this so hopefully we can continue to score points and keep our momentum going.”
