Esteban Ocon sets Daniel Ricciardo as ‘not’ the strongest benchmark in F1

Esteban Ocon sets Daniel Ricciardo as ‘not’ the strongest benchmark in F1
Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon will be paired up with Fernando Alonso in the newly shaped Alpine for the 2021 season. Fernando Alonso replaces Australian Driver, Daniel Ricciardo in the team. His former partner Esteban Ocon reveals that Ricciardo is not the strongest benchmark in F1. It may seem strange to many as Ricciardo outperformed Ocon in the 2020 season. Although one might suggest that Ocon grabbed his first career podium in Sakhir GP, he still lacked behind by 47 points. 

Having said that Ocon got the better of Ricciardo on 2 occasions. But that was it for the French Driver. Esteban Ocon is aware that the Renault car takes a little longer to get used to and was impressed by Daniel Ricciardo’s quick adaptations to the car.  

Esteban Ocon on Daniel Ricciardo 

Even after being outperformed by Ricciardo, the French driver stated, “I don’t know if he’s the strongest benchmark, but he’s certainly one of the tops [ones]. I’ve been very impressed with what he’s been doing, outperforming the car in a lot of moments.” 

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“It was definitely a great thing to have him as my team-mate, to see where I could get better and what I could do against him. It’s been good for my learning curve,” stated the Renault driver. 

Daniel Ricciardo helped Renault claim their first podium finish last season since their return in 2016. 

“He’s very fast and he adapts to the conditions very well, so he learns very quickly. When there’s one corner where I’m doing better than him, he will rectify it once we get to qualifying. He’s always very positive on everything,” explained Ocon. 

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