F1: Force India Signs Up Esteban Ocon To Replace Hulkenberg
Ameya Naik
1 min read
Nov 11, 2016, 04:17 PM
Formula One team Force India expected the exit of driver Nico Hulkenberg for the 2017 season and the driver the now headed to the vacated seat at Renault. Partnering Sergio Perez for next season is 20-year old Esteban Ocon. The 20-year-old Frenchman, who made his Formula One racing debut with Manor mid-way through 2016, is fairly new to the world of F1 but not to racing.
A former European F3 and GP3 champion, Ocon drove Force India's VJM08 in the Barcelona pre-season test and the Red Bull Ring mid-season test in 2015. Force India Team principal Vijay Mallya said, "It's a pleasure to welcome Esteban as our new race driver. He's an exceptional talent, as his status as a Mercedes Junior demonstrates, and I have no doubt he will flourish inside our team.”
Ocon started 2016 as a test driver for Renault and a race driver for Mercedes at DTM after which he made his debut in Formula One in August at the Belgian Grand Prix where he took over from Rio Harayanto’s seat in Manor Racing.
The Frenchman was certainly delighted to be part of the team and he said, “I'm still relatively new to Formula One, but spending half a season at Manor Racing has given me some valuable experience and I feel ready for this new opportunity with Sahara Force India. The next few months will be very busy as I do all I can to prepare for the challenge ahead of me. It means lots of days at the factory, working on the simulator and building relationships with the engineers and everybody in the team.”
Ocon's switch from Manor to Force India leaves just five seats open for 2017: two at Manor, two at Sauber, and one at Haas - which Kevin Magnussen is widely expected to fill.
A former European F3 and GP3 champion, Ocon drove Force India's VJM08 in the Barcelona pre-season test and the Red Bull Ring mid-season test in 2015. Force India Team principal Vijay Mallya said, "It's a pleasure to welcome Esteban as our new race driver. He's an exceptional talent, as his status as a Mercedes Junior demonstrates, and I have no doubt he will flourish inside our team.”
Ocon started 2016 as a test driver for Renault and a race driver for Mercedes at DTM after which he made his debut in Formula One in August at the Belgian Grand Prix where he took over from Rio Harayanto’s seat in Manor Racing.
The Frenchman was certainly delighted to be part of the team and he said, “I'm still relatively new to Formula One, but spending half a season at Manor Racing has given me some valuable experience and I feel ready for this new opportunity with Sahara Force India. The next few months will be very busy as I do all I can to prepare for the challenge ahead of me. It means lots of days at the factory, working on the simulator and building relationships with the engineers and everybody in the team.”
Ocon's switch from Manor to Force India leaves just five seats open for 2017: two at Manor, two at Sauber, and one at Haas - which Kevin Magnussen is widely expected to fill.
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