“We have seen with Daniel the benefit of the second year versus the first year”- Cyril Abiteboul confident of stronger Esteban Ocon for 2021

“We have seen with Daniel the benefit of the second year versus the first year”- Cyril Abiteboul predicting stronger performances by Esteban Ocon.

Esteban Ocon this year is again going to represent Renault in its rebranded team- Alpine while partnering with Fernando Alonso, who is returning to F1 after more than two years.

Speaking about Esteban Ocon, Cyril Abiteboul feels that Esteban Ocon will come out stronger this year while citing Daniel Ricciardo’s two-year stint example.

“We have seen with Daniel the benefit of the second year versus the first year,” said Abitebou to the Motorsports. “I hope that the momentum from the podium that he had will make him strong and able to deliver more than we have altogether in 2021.”

Though Ocon only once outpassed his ex-teammate, McLaren bound for 2021, and by the season end, the French racer only obtained 62 points to the 119 amassed by Ricciardo.

However, it wouldn’t be fair to make a head to head comparison between the two drivers, as Ocon was coming back to Formula 1 after a year without any action (stayed with Mercedes as a reserve driver). The lockdown was imposed due to the pandemic extended his forced sabbatical,

Extremely comfortable with the lineup.

Renault has tried to find a perfect balance between experience and youth in Alonso and Ocon’s combination, and Abiteboul confirms that he is super comfortable with the lineup. “We feel extremely comfortable with our line-up given the situation of the team [and] what it needs to achieve,” said Abiteboul.

“Fernando knows that the only way to win is to plan and to build in advance and 2021 being a particular year where we need to balance our effort between ’21 and ’22.

“We have all together, with Fernando, clearly an eye on ’22 and he understands that, and he will be completely part of that process and that journey.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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