Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff recently had an unusual and surprising take on Esteban Ocon. The Austrian honcho claimed that Ocon, who’s currently driving for Alpine now, had more hype than Max Verstappen during their younger days.
Now Ocon, trying to justify his hype, has lately stated that he can do a better job than Sergio Perez by giving the current World Champion a fight if he was in the same Red Bull car.
Notably, the Mexican has been off-color ever since his P2 finish in Miami this season. From there on, the former Racing Point driver could only manage P16, P4, and P6 respectively in the mighty RB-19, which is regarded as the best car on the grid.
After seeing Perez fail to challenge Verstappen despite having the Red Bull’s car beneath him, Ocon believes he could challenge the Dutchman for victories, as he did during their younger days if he were in the Bull cockpit.
Esteban Ocon confident about fighting Max Verstappen for World Championship
The Frenchman has been quite brilliant in the last few races. After a slow start to the season, he has consistently finished in the top 10. Considering he is not driving a Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, or Ferrari, it’s commendable.
After claiming the podium in Monaco, the 26-year-old picked up P9 in Miami, and P8 in both Spain and Canada. With Ocon churning out such performances in an Alpine, he very much feels he can take the fight with the defending champion.
There’s nothing quite like a Monaco podium 🍾#MonacoGP #F1 @OconEsteban pic.twitter.com/68QQ8EG5A2
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 29, 2023
Speaking about it, the Alpine star stated, as per DAZN, “Sure, I see myself fighting with Verstappen fighting for a World Cup if we had the same car. Now Max is doing an incredible job, he is dominating with Red Bull.”
It’s important to note that Ocon had a staunch rivalry with Verstappen during their F3 Series back in 2014. And this was the time the Frenchman was hyped more than the current two-time world champion.
Perez and his Red Bull future
Despite having a great start to the season, Sergio Perez has fallen apart to a great extent. As the Mexican failed repeatedly, on the other hand, his teammate Max Verstappen claimed the 100th win for the team.
In a time where Verstappen seems to be unstoppable, Perez’s dismal performance is surely a grave concern for the team as well as for himself.
With Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings for the seat and team principal Christian Horner getting increasingly unhappy about the situation, things don’t look too great for the 33-year-old until he pulls his socks up.
