Ocon continues to dream of F1 world title: 'I will get that chance one day'

19:00, 13 Jul

Updated: 19:09, 13 Jul

byLudo van Denderen

Esteban Ocon has belonged to the top drivers in the midfield for many years, but he got himself a chance with the Haas F1 team. Nevertheless, he is convinced that one day he will get his chance to compete against Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri for the world title in Formula 1.

When Esteban Ocon was a young driver in the junior classes, the Frenchman was almost unbeatable. Even Max Verstappen had to admit defeat to him in 2014; the season when both top talents competed for the title in the F3 European Championship. Ocon won the title, Verstappen finished in third. But once in Formula 1, Ocon has ‘only’ one victory to his name.

Ocon was used to winning

“Yeah, it is very frustrating for sure,” Ocon states during an exclusive interview with GPblog, about not being able to compete for the big prizes anymore. “I'm a competitor, I'm here for winning. All I want is to win I've been used to winning my whole career, from karts, junior formulas, everything until I got to Formula 1."

“I won one race, I've done a couple of podiums for sure, but you want to be there more. I believe that if I work hard, that if I do the right job and that I perform with whatever I can have, one day I will have the opportunity to fight for a title. That's what I want to happen. And I will not slow down until I get to that. So yes, we will not win the World Championship this year, but you never know in the future what can come."

Formula 1 is an unfair sport

In the world of sports, Formula 1 is somewhat of an odd one out. A driver can be ever so good, but if the material he competes with isn’t, it becomes a battle that cannot be won. Throughout his entire F1 career, Ocon has never got a chance with a top team, unlike his former teammate Sergio Perez. He once got the chance to move to Red Bull Racing, where he even finished second in the drivers' standings.

“I think it is honestly not being at the right moment at the right place., Ocon says about why he never got that chance at the top. “I believe that that I keep working hard to do the right job one day my chance will come.”

“But yes, if I look at all you know my colleagues from the same you know time frame as me, so George [Russell], Pierre [Gasly], Max [Verstappen], Charles [Leclerc], Lando [Norris], Alex [Albon], all of these guys, they had the chance to have a car that was fighting for podium and wins at some point. Unfortunately, I'm the only one that didn't have that chance yet, but I keep pushing for it to happen one day for sure."

Who knows, even with Haas it might be possible to win the Formula 1 title, the smallest team on the grid. “You never know what can happen next year. I believe the team has very high capabilities of building fast cars,” he says.

“There could be surprises, I mean, we saw Brawn a couple of years ago doing the same thing, we saw McLaren being last in the midfield in 2023 and then fighting for World Championship ’24 and ’25 so it can happen, but one step at a time."

No 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ocon

Ocon could also achieve a world title could in Formula E or the World Endurance Championship (WEC). The WEC includes the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans on its calendar, and for many French drivers it's a dream to win that race. Yet Ocon says: “No, my goal is Formula 1. This is what I've been working for all my life. And I want to have the chance to fight for something big.”

Presented with the idea that Ocon has developed into an extremely mature driver, with the rough edges smoothed out, he appreciates it. “I think with time you always get more experience. You understand how things work, you work better, you improve. If you stand still in terms of learning curve, that's the time where you're not going to go quicker. And for me, I'm always looking at being a better version of myself every single time I'm out in the car.”

Ocon goes quiet for a moment and then continues: "I tend to always see the negative overall and not focus on the positive. I'm that kind of guy that really focuses on the negative and try to improve it. But it's always nice to hear these kind of things.”