Alpine driver Esteban Ocon isn’t a driver who shies away from the spotlight in Formula 1.
He made his debut nearly ten years ago with backmarkers Manor Racing and thanks to his connections with Mercedes – he’s still managed by Toto Wolff – has been a constant figure on the grid since 2020.
That may change next year if Esteban Ocon can’t find a new team having already announced he’ll be leaving Alpine after a five-year stint with the manufacturer in its various forms.
Ocon has now taken part in an interview with the Spanish outlet El Confidencial and shared some interesting thoughts on his career thus far.
The Frenchman doesn’t have many regrets when it comes to his career so far, even if has clashed with his various teammates on several occasions.
Ocon’s relationship with Pierre Gasly isn’t the closest on the grid but when asked about the one change he would make in his F1 career, none of his collisions with his fellow countryman came to mind.
Instead, Ocon recalled a mistake he made at the start of the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix when a crash with 21-time race winner Kimi Raikkonen ended his hopes of securing the best result of his career up to that point.
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Esteban Ocon rues crash with Kimi Raikkonen as his biggest regret in Formula 1
Ocon: “There are always things you would like to change, things to learn from the past. One that you have in mind is Baku.
“The touch with Kimi [Raikkonen] that I had, that day, probably cost me my first podium.
“We were fourth or fifth, I had a great pace all weekend. If I could have changed something then…
“No one is perfect, you learn from mistakes so you don’t make them again, but it’s something I try and do.
“I ask myself questions, and then I change the things I need to change. And if I don’t find the answers, I look for help in the team.
“But it is very important in Formula 1 not to feel too comfortable and to question yourself to come back stronger.”
Esteban Ocon wasted a good opportunity to secure his first Formula 1 podium
Esteban Ocon was in his second full season in Formula 1 with Force India and was racing Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari.
The Frenchman had qualified brilliantly to start 7 on the grid with Raikkonen a place ahead of him after setting a time just three-hundreds faster in Q3.
However, Ocon’s race lasted just three corners as he tried an audacious move around the outside of Raikkonen on the tricky street circuit.
He failed to give the Finnish driver enough space and Raikkonen’s front right tyre smashed into the side of Ocon, sending him into the barriers and out of the race.
While it’s potentially ambitious for Ocon to say that he could have earned his first podium that day at the time, Raikkonen did end up finishing second and three of the drivers who started ahead of Ocon also retired.
It’s the sort of incident that has hampered Ocon’s career and alongside his temperament is one of the reasons why Martin Brundle believes he’ll never drive for a top team.
That may seem harsh, especially as Ocon is on the lookout for a new seat next year, but with so few seats available at the front of the grid, teams are unlikely to gamble on someone with these flaws.
Ocon had to wait until the following season after his move to Renault to secure his first podium and won his first race a year later in Hungary.
The 27-year-old is clearly talented and you don’t stay in F1 for nearly 150 races without having something about you.
However, in a battle with Kimi Raikkonen, you have to be completely sure what you’re doing as the Iceman was never going to compromise in a situation like that.
The post ‘No one is perfect’: Esteban Ocon says crash with 21-win F1 star is the one change he would make to his career appeared first on F1 Oversteer.