Esteban Ocon has played down suggestions by Force India teammate Sergio Perez that he will face more pressure to achieve in 2018 following an excellent first season with the Silverstone-based outfit.
The young Frenchman would score points in all but two of the 20 races in his first full year on the grid, but higher scoring results for Perez would mean he finished 13 points clear of the former European F3 and GP3 champion.
Now having established himself as one of the hottest prospects for the future, Ocon will have to live up to that standard in what will likely be an even more competitive midfield with the likes of Renault, Haas, Toro Rosso and Williams all expected to battle Force India behind what could be the top four teams if McLaren make their anticipated jump.
However, he is taking in his stride and only sees room for improvement with the additional experience now under his belt.
“I feel alright if everyone is watching me for that so people are expecting me to do well which is always positive,” the 21-year-old said. “I don’t have more pressure, I will work the same way with the team with dedication and train the same way.
“I won’t change much, except that I’m a different driver now compared to the beginning of the year. I’ve been learning so much more which will help me at the start of the year like knowing the tracks – Australia, China, Monaco – all that will help me.”
Off the track too, he is developing and claims he will be more meticulous in his approach to racing.
“You can’t let any details hang there. Any small issues, you can’t leave it,” he commented. “They will come back bigger, so any details you can fix, you have to fix. That is what I’ve learnt this year and put into my performances.”
Such has been his impact, many are already tipping him as a future Mercedes driver, where he is part of their young driver program. With Valtteri Bottas only on one-year contracts, that also opens the door for the likes of Ocon to potentially enter should he impress enough, but Motorsport boss Toto Wolff doubts that will be in 2019.
“Esteban is one of our drivers and is therefore in the picture, but the team and all of its strength is behind Valtteri,” he told Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper.
“If we to start thinking about other drivers, it would mean that the emotional side would not be 100 percent for Valtteri but I can assure you, from the board to every team member, we all want Valtteri to succeed.
“Together with Lewis, he is our driver and we do not think of any others.”