“It was really tough”: Ocon opens up about his 2019 season, outside of F1
In the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, Esteban Ocon reflected on his year off the grid in 2019. He admitted to having experienced an extremely challenging emotional period.
Very promising at Force India in 2017 and 2018, alongside a Sergio Perez who caused sensitive internal rivalry, Esteban Ocon then experienced the buyout of the Indian team by Lawrence Stroll, ousting him from a starting position. His son Lance will be placed alongside Perez. Ocon finds himself without a seat and will have to spend a year on the sidelines as a reserve driver for Mercedes.
In the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, the Frenchman looked back on this very difficult period in his life. “It was really tough,” the Normand declares. “I had some very low moments mentally.”
Ocon remembers a particularly difficult moment, during the first Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne. « I think I will remember the one in Australia. I arrived at the first race in 2019 and we were supposed to have a fairly important testing program, so I was supposed to drive the car a bit. When I arrived in Australia, I was told that I wouldn’t be driving the car for the next six months. The next test was supposed to take place in six months. »
The native of Évreux asserts that this cancellation of a driving session has deeply affected him emotionally. I remember leaving the track in Melbourne, getting into the rental car, and crying in the parking lot. There were many difficult moments. I don’t have much trouble falling asleep, but I remember that night not being the best.
