Ocon finds the ATIIA force atmosphere at Haas, but in larger

The only Frenchman appearing in the top 10 in the championship after the first five Grands Prix of the season, Esteban Ocon integrated perfectly at Haas. After having turned the Alpine page into pain, the Norman discovers a new life in Formula 1 with this new challenge.

If the irregularity of the performances of his car and the results occupies most of his attention, he welcomes the atmosphere in which he now evolves, far from having the feeling of a downgrading by having joined the American team. He finds there a state of mind he knew in Force India, but with superior means.

“My first impression of the team is really that of a big family”he explains in the Podcast Beyond the Grid. “They welcomed me so warm that I immediately felt at home. It is a real new start for me. I have the feeling of very well integrating with everyone, and everyone is motivated and hungry for results.”

“They are proud of everything they do, and that is important, because if you are not proud of your work, you might as well do not do it. Honestly, it’s fantastic to be part of such a team, and I hope that we can progress again this year.”

“In terms of atmosphere, this family side reminds me of the years forces India, but without having the impression of being small. Here, we really have the impression of being in a big team, especially when we see what she does. When we need something, it happens faster than what I have known in the past.”

“Ayao [Komatsu, directeur de l’écurie] Could tell you in which areas we can still progress, but for me, we do not feel like a small team. The quality of the work is very impressive. And I don’t have the feeling that we lack at all, because everyone does the maximum so that I am in the best possible conditions. “

An already effective pilot-engineer tandem

At the start of the season, Esteban Ocon also knew how to set up effective working relationships with Laura Müller, her race engineer. Impressed by his varied background, he is even more so concerning the quantity of work abacted.

“She has a lot of experience in many categories”he underlines. “She did DTM and I did too, so we have this common point. But she has done a lot of different categories and her career is really very impressive. It is a real pleasure to work with her. The quantity of hours she devotes to work is really impressive. She does not count her hours.”

“I remember that in Suzuka, we had a complicated weekend, but we still chained meetings and debriefs because it was not the performance that we expected, and she did not even get up to get a sandwich or drink anything, probably all day.”