Wise in the middle of the pack, Ocon saw the finish of his first race for Manor

Far from the aura of Nico Rosberg’s victory, the thrill of Magnussen’s accident, or the muscular maneuvers between Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers, Esteban Ocon impressed… with his discretion! The Mercedes protégé didn’t get noticed for the wrong reasons, as he avoided collisions.

Opportunistic, the native of Evreux even reached 11th place during the safety car intervention on the third lap. In the end, there is great pride in his first 44 laps in official competition.

« I am very proud to have taken the start and especially to have seen the checkered flag. I will remember this day for the rest of my life. »

Even aboard his Manor, the spectacular scenario of this race did not spare the young driver (19 years and 11 months old), who is well aware of it.

« This wasn’t an easy first race, that’s for sure! There was so much happening in that first lap: it was crazy to be on track at that moment. It was very difficult to avoid the debris and keep fighting for my position at the same time. »

More generally, Ocon was also impressed by the overwhelming number of technical parameters to manage on board his single-seater.

« Through it all, I will also remember all the procedures to use; it’s not difficult, but you just have to remember everything in the heat of the moment, everything happens very quickly in Formula 1. It’s never easy to deal with a red flag: I’m actually glad to hear that Kevin is okay. »

Visibly, the work was well done, showing no regrets in his post-race comments, despite this constant descent towards the lower ranks of the standings. Only Nasr did not finish the race ahead of Ocon. But no matter, the essential was elsewhere for the time being.

On my side, I think we did the maximum with the car today: I am happy with this sixteenth place, and to have finished ahead of a Sauber.

The track was very demanding on the tires, today was a great full-scale test!

Now, it’s time for Monza, starting next weekend. The 2015 GP3 Series champion is already eager to compete, having started almost 25 years to the day after a certain Michael Schumacher, on this same Spa-Francorchamps circuit:

There will be a lot to debrief about this race; anyway, I’m already ready for Monza. There, I will look to improve my qualifying session and take another step forward. In the meantime, I thank everyone for this wonderful weekend; I can’t wait for the next one!

My first GP is done!
P16 was the best we could have done today. Onto the #ItalianGP now, and we Will be fast!👊😉 pic.twitter.com/WhZUPRX2dH

— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) 28 août 2016

Only drawback, Ocon could not measure himself against his teammate. Pascal Wehrlein had a very fast race after hitting the rear of Jenson Button’s McLaren in the Combes corner, an accident that forced him to retire.

The number 94 invoked a kind of bad luck here.

« I really had bad luck today. In the fifth corner, the two drivers in front of me were battling. They braked later than expected, missing their apex. So, I tried to overtake them in the sixth corner, on the outside. Then, both came back on my line, and I couldn’t avoid the crash. (with Button) It’s unfortunate, but it can happen, especially when starting from the middle of the pack like me. »

#F1 #BelgianGP Video an incident Pascal Wehrlein & Jenson Button.
I am not sure who had made mistake.
Unlucky Pascal pic.twitter.com/LOwpBmujCp — Fans Manor F1 (@GueFansManorF1) 28 août 2016

What a shame indeed for the German-Mauritian, who had impressed everyone in qualifying with a Q2 appearance and a sixteenth place.

« I think that ninth place in Q1 was a very good measure of our level of competitiveness this weekend. I will strive to maintain our efforts in Monza. We will come back stronger as early as next weekend. There isn’t much time to wait! »

So, will the Italian leg be the first opportunity to assess the match between Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon? Answer in just under 7 days now!