Esteban Ocon sheds light on Lewis Hamilton’s work ethics

Esteban Ocon was Mercedes' reserve driver during the 2019 F1 season.

Esteban Ocon sheds light on Lewis Hamilton’s work ethics

Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon (Via: Imago)

Esteban Ocon has been soaring in F1 headlines for quite a while but for not any good reasons. He recently lost his seat at Alpine and is now a free agent for the 2025 season. However, a similar instance happened with the Frenchman in 2018, when he was left without a seat for 2019 and spent a year on the sidelines as Mercedes reserve. During his time, he got a first-hand look at how Lewis Hamilton balanced his work life.

Lewis Hamilton is often regarded as the greatest driver to have ever graced the F1 paddock. With a massive fan following, the 39-year-old is also a great target for the marketing department. On the other hand, he is known to attend various ceremonies and events in his spare time, thus making his schedule immensely hectic.

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Esteban Ocon gave an insight into how the former seven-time world champion manages his other interests with racing.

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He’s got a very busy life in general and seeing how he switches his focus from one thing to another, for me that kind of amazed me that he was straight away on point, back with his engineer after something completely different. He didn’t take 10 minutes to refocus and re-work with his engineers because you don’t have time to do that. He always had his paper boards with notes and he was always having notes not to forget things from one year to another, or one session to another.
Esteban Ocon said on the High Performance podcast

The Frenchman explained that while Hamilton has a busy life in general, he has an amazing ability to switch his focus from one subject to another in a jiff. He further revealed the 39-year-old has paper boards and notes that he carries with him having track-specific information.

Haas eyes out Esteban Ocon as a potential candidate for 2025

While his time at Mercedes would have helped Ocon learn a lot from the former world champion, the former is currently in a dire situation to secure his future for the 2025 season after being ditched by Alpine. This only leaves a few teams to select from, as many teams have already confirmed their lineups heading into the 2025 season.

Ayao Komatsu and Esteban Ocon
Ayao Komatsu and Esteban Ocon (Via: Imago)

On the other hand, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu reckons Ocon to be an ideal driver for his team.

He's got a lot of experience, he is a race winner, he's got podium finishes and has scored many points and then he worked with a few different teams. But also he's still only 27, he's still very young. I think his commitment and work ethic is very, very good.
Ayao Komatsu said as quoted by Motorsportweek

The Japanese explained that the Frenchman had vast experience in F1 machinery and was also a race winner. Moreover, he knows how different teams work owing to his stints at various teams over the years while also being only 27 years of age. Thus, he seems to be an exemplary candidate.

However, the F1 world has been quite volatile for the past few weeks. So, a move to other teams cannot be ruled out this early, as the F1 silly season is yet to reach its peak.

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