How Ocon ended up back at the team that rejected him
Renault's decision to forego an agreement to give Esteban Ocon a 2019 race seat fractured its relationship with Mercedes. But neither side lost trust and they put their squabbles behind them to revisit the deal - successfully - a year later
In August last year, Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff was left fuming when Renault abandoned its plans to take his protege Esteban Ocon for 2019 and signed Daniel Ricciardo instead.
Yet a little over a year after that rejection, Ocon was announced as a Renault driver for 2020. Wolff and Cyril Abiteboul are not only best pals again, but they also form a mutual admiration society that is rare in a world where you wouldn't be surprised to hear that a team boss has sold his own grandmother.
Share Or Save This Story
Krack: Aston Martin F1 team no longer in “no-man’s land”
Gasly rues costly floor damage from Ocon contact in F1 Japanese GP
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Russell: Dirty air is causing F1 helmet turbulence problems
Vasseur: No guarantee that Ferrari F1 tyre issues are resolved
How an F1 underachiever became a Japanese political player
Erik Jones sidelined with compression fracture after Talladega crash
Alpine confident for 'good news' in Habsburg injury recovery
Ferrari "made too many mistakes" for podium fight at F1 Chinese GP
What is a wildcard in MotoGP and why is it used?
Did F1's new sprint format work?
Chinese Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2024
Why Verstappen's China F1 win was a sideshow to the real battle
How the pursuit of marginal F1 gains caused Sauber's pitstop stumbles
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
