Ocon was “exceptional” during his test with Lotus F1
Esteban Ocon completed his first laps in a Formula 1 car at the wheel of a 2012 Lotus on the Valencia circuit in Spain over the past two days. According to Alan Permane, the team's technical director, the European Formula 3 champion was impressive.
These past two days, the freshly crowned European Formula 3 champion, Esteban Ocon, was invited by Lotus, of which he is part of the young driver program, to carry out tests at the wheel of a 2012 single-seater.
The young Frenchman covered over 150 laps at the wheel of the E20 on this occasion. His learning went exceptionally well as he even managed to impress Alan Permane with his speed and technical understanding, as reported by the Briton: « Esteban drove exceptionally well over these two days, completing all the tasks we entrusted to him. It’s evident that he is very talented; he was immediately very fast and felt comfortable in the car. His technical feedback and skills are clearly promising. I’m sure we’ll see him again very soon behind the wheel of a Formula 1. »
Ocon, meanwhile, confirms that he quickly felt at ease behind the wheel: “I had to adapt to the car quite quickly, which went pretty well. I felt comfortable with the team and the car. The word I would use to describe the sensations of driving a Formula 1 is that it’s just much faster. The car was easy to drive, stable, and very pleasant. It’s a good single-seater. I’m really happy with these two days of testing and I hope to have the opportunity to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 very soon.”
