Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez were teammates at Force India for two seasons, from 2017 to 2018. One might expect that Perez, who had more than six years of experience in Formula 1, would have mentored Ocon, who was a rookie in 2017. However, that was not the case, as the two drivers had a tense and competitive relationship that often resulted in on-track clashes and off-track disputes.
Ocon‘s relationship with Perez was notoriously difficult. They fought several times on the track and their rivalry escalated to the point where Perez was accused of trying to ‘kill’ Ocon after a collision at the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, it is very unlikely that Perez and Ocon had a mentor-mentee relationship. Perez is known for being a very competitive driver, and he has said that he does not like to give advice to his teammates.
Sergio Perez’s exclusion from Esteban Ocon’s list
Ocon recently revealed his feelings about his former teammate in an interview with Formula 1. When asked to name his best teammate, Ocon named everyone other than Perez. He praised his current Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly, and also their ex-driver Fernando Alonso .He also mentioned Manor 2016 team-mates Pascal Wehrlein and also Rio Harianto from when he made his F1 debut.
Talking about this, he said, “I’ve always had strong teammates, from Pascal Wehrlein, Danny Ric, Fernando, to Pierre all of these guys- all of them at top of their games.”
However, he did not say a word about Perez, who was his teammate for longer than any of the others. This shows how strained their relationship was, and how little respect they had for each other.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly get along well
Ocon is now teammates with Gasly at Alpine, and they have a much better relationship than he had with Perez. They are both French and have known each other since their karting days. Both drivers are friends off the track and have a good working relationship on the track, despite developing a rivalry of sorts.
Both Gasly and Ocon had a mixed season this year. The season started the season with a string of misfortunes, including penalties, retirements, and collisions with one another. They are currently 11th and 12th in the driver standings.
Both Ocon and Gasly have been hampered by the unreliability of the Alpine A523 car. The car became prone to mechanical problems and became difficult to drive, especially in wet conditions. However, both drivers have shown flashes of potential and will be hoping to improve their performances in the future.
