Esteban Ocon joins Renault F1 Team. Nico Hulkenberg?

Posted on 29 August 2019 by Ken Zino
AutoInformed,com

Nico Hulkenberg is without a ride for 2020.

The Renault F1 Team finally admits that  Esteban Ocon will join Daniel Ricciardo as a works driver next year during its fifth season in F1. Twenty-two-year-old Esteban, from Normandy, France, will join the under-performing Renault F1 Team on a two-year contract. The Frenchman is known to Renault, having been Renault reserve driver in 2016 and also a Lotus junior program member. Ricciardo is currently 11th in the standings. Nico Hulkenberg is 14th, and since his contract is expiring, rumors are rampant about next season.

Esteban has a mixed record but an advantage in that he’s French. He made his F1 race debut mid-2016 with Manor Racing, before moving to Sahara Force India F1 Team in 2017. Aged just 19 years and 345 days, he was the youngest French driver to ever start an F1 race – a record he holds to this day.

A challenging assignment for a young would-be superstar.

In his first full season in the sport, he tallied 87 points and eighth in the drivers’ championship. In 2018, Esteban added a further 49 points to his F1 tally before joining Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team as reserve driver for the 2019 season.

In two and a half seasons, Esteban Ocon has 50 F1 Grand Prix starts, finishing in the points in 28 races and retiring on 6 occasions. His performances include qualifying 3rd in Belgium in 2018, finishing 5th in Mexico in 2017, and 8th in the 2017 World Championships.

Renault says that signing to the F1 Team is the next step in Evreux-born Ocon’s career. After his early success in karting, he swept the Lotus F1 Junior Team (forerunner of the Renault Sport Academy) to the podium right from his first season racing single-seaters. Finishing third in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 in 2013, Ocon went on to win the FIA European Formula 3 Championships in 2014 and the GP3 Series in 2015.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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