Ocon: “It must not happen again”

Esteban Ocon looks back on his particularly agitated Azerbaijan Grand Prix between the battle for third place and the incident with his teammate. He finished the race in 6th place.

What was it like to fight for the podium in Baku, to be in the car and say to yourself "I'm 3^e, I can make a podium”?

Esteban Ocon: I've been fighting for two races, not far from the podium. I have it for a few rounds but in the end it doesn't come to fruition. It's already great to have a car that allows me to fight for these positions. I struggle with Mercedes, Ferrari et Red Bull who are incredible teams. I'm not going to give up until I have a podium this year, that's for sure! I'm happy to see the work that the team has put in and now we have to see what can happen this year, I think we will have other opportunities to fight for the podium.

The Baku accident was described as unacceptable yesterday by your team (Otmar Szafnauer, managing director of Force India, editor’s note.), what do you have to add?

O: I agree. This must not happen again. It's not good to see teammates touching each other. All I can say is that it must not happen again.

The fact that you arrive on circuits that you know in Europe and on a second part of the season that you know with Manor, can that only benefit you?

O: Exactly. To arrive at circuits where I have already ridden in lower categories, that will help me a lot. I will already be in the rhythm from the first practice sessions, I will not have to recover lost time and that makes a big difference in F1.