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Esteban Ocon says that his dedication to training will pay off as he aims to transform under the new weight rules of Formula 1.
Ocon will sit out the 2019 season but will work closely with Mercedes ahead of a targeted return for the 2020 season. This year, new rules regarding weight mean that drivers will be weighed separately from the cars, a move that will benefit heavier drivers.
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Ocon was one of the heaviest drivers on the grid and therefore had little body fat in order to minimise the potential time loss by being heavier. And with the Frenchman eyeing up a possible seat at Mercedes for 2020, Ocon is determined that he will be back full-time in just over a year.
"What I don’t want to swallow at all, what I will not swallow, is that I’m not back in 2020," he told Autosport. “I would be massively disappointed by this. I believe I will be back and I trust the people around me to be back.
“I will just be even better prepared – with everything I know, with the knowledge I have from the [2018] season. I will transform myself with the new weight regulations, and I will arrive more ready than I was when I started at Force India [in 2017].
“I believe that with the amount of work I put in every day, this situation will change. My dedication will pay off and I will be back in 2020.”
Ocon lost out on a 2019 drive after Racing Point brought in Lance Stroll alongside Sergio Perez. Ocon was also snubbed by a number of other teams on the grid, including McLaren and Toro Rosso, due to his links to Mercedes.
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Replies (4)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
This just made me depict him as fat. Just overeating to the point where his next team would have to just build him into the car to make him fit at all. But I get what he is harping about. Though he should be careful with such almost daring statements. I know daddy Wolff is behind him, but the same once applied to Wehrlein, and how long ago was that now?
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Poor Esteban, he looked like the victim of shipwreck being rescued after months in an island. When they changed the rules about weight he is actually who came to mind first. Regarding his future drive? I think there will be room for him, but outside of Mercedes. He is definitely superior to Wherlein and there's good reason to think Toto wants to keep him close. But I don't think he's better than Bottas. I know the partisan fan likes to denigrate Bottas because of a couple of incidents last year, but he's still top notch outside of the F1 elite drivers.
blade
Posts: 341
I really want Perez to get a shot in a top car - for me he was better than Ocon as a whole package - if there was any justice this would happen.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
I don't think Perez will be able to land 1 of the top 6 seats. I think he's OK but is OK enough for one of those seats? Perez did some bad moves last year against his team mate. Ocon sits in the same boat an OK driver but not good enough for an top seat hence why he hasn't replaced Bottas yet. I would rather have Bottas than Ocon/Perez.