How Ocon ended up back at the team that rejected him
Renault's decision to forego an agreement to give Esteban Ocon a 2019 race seat fractured its relationship with Mercedes. But neither side lost trust and they put their squabbles behind them to revisit the deal - successfully - a year later
In August last year, Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff was left fuming when Renault abandoned its plans to take his protege Esteban Ocon for 2019 and signed Daniel Ricciardo instead.
Yet a little over a year after that rejection, Ocon was announced as a Renault driver for 2020. Wolff and Cyril Abiteboul are not only best pals again, but they also form a mutual admiration society that is rare in a world where you wouldn't be surprised to hear that a team boss has sold his own grandmother.
Share Or Save This Story
More from Adam Cooper
Vowles: Current F1 regulations not a failure despite dirty air issue
Aston Martin: "Old fox" Alonso brings F1 value beyond pure performance
F1 set to abandon possible switch to 16-inch wheels for 2026
Mercedes planning Melbourne “experiments” with W15 F1 car
Alonso: Aston Martin F1 car still "two or three tenths" off McLaren, Mercedes
Ocon: Racing F1 rivals showed Alpine weaknesses
Vasseur downplays future Ferrari F1 chance for Bearman
The gizmo-laden Williams F1 car that allowed Prost to retire on top
Latest news
Alpine F1 driver Gasly becomes co-owner in French football club
The key MotoGP change that has gone under the radar in 2024
What the data tells us about Mercedes’ latest F1 problems
Everything you need to know about the pitwall in F1 - who sits there and what does it do?
Autosport Plus
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.