Ocon, the “future star” of Lotus in Formula 1

During his post-season tests in Abu Dhabi, in a 2014 Lotus-Renault, Esteban Ocon, who was up against regular driver Pastor Maldonado, really impressed his team.

By finishing only three-tenths of a second behind the Venezuelan, the young French driver earned the admiration of Alan Permane, Lotus’s technical director: « Working with him is an absolute pleasure. He is undoubtedly very fast, even though I don’t think we needed to put him in the car to know that. There is no doubt. »

On the other hand, his technical feedback seems precise and valuable for the Enstone team: « His feedback is excellent. He had no preconceived notions about the car, so he didn’t tell us if the tires were overheating or if the diffuser was stalling; he simply described what was happening, which was a bit of oversteer. »

His strong abilities could therefore quickly lead him to take on a more significant role within the team in the relatively near future, according to the engineer: « This seems very positive for the future. Finishing the test session only three-tenths behind Pastor was excellent. It was 100% representative of his capabilities. They had the same fuel load and were on the same program. He had never driven a 2014 single-seater or a hybrid power unit before, so there is still a lot to come. »

« One thing he said was that there were a lot of setting adjustments to make during a lap, which, of course, race drivers are now used to doing. They know that every lap they’re going to have to change a switch, and at the beginning of the season it was a real struggle, but now it’s like second nature. So he has all that to learn in addition to the circuits. I’m sure he’s a star of tomorrow. »