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“I went back to the car and cried” – Esteban Ocon opens up about his unexpected year on F1 sidelines

Motorsport.comAugust 2, 2026

Curated for Torqlytics readers — aggregated from trusted F1 publishers, not original reporting.


Esteban Ocon has opened up about the 2019 Formula 1 season, which he spent as a Mercedes reserve driver following an unfavourable chain of events.Back in July 2018, Ocon was riding a wave of momentum. In his second full F1 campaign, the Mercedes protege was narrowly leading seasoned Force India team-mate Sergio Perez in the drivers’ standings, and had just outqualified him seven times in a ...