Esteban Ocon has claimed he would jump at the first opportunity to rekindle his “very intense” junior series rivalry with Max Verstappen in Formula 1.
Both drivers are considered stars of the future with Verstappen already one of the biggest names in the sport after just three seasons but when the Dutchman first burst into the spotlight in European F3 in 2014 it was Ocon who beat him to the title that year.
As part of the Red Bull program, Max’s rise has been more rapid but after getting his chance with Manor in 2016 before joining Force India last season, some see it as a matter of when not if Ocon joins Mercedes, with whom the Frenchman is already associated.
“Yeah, if there is a championship at the end of that fight I’d sign straight away, there’s no problem there,” Ocon told Autosport when asked if he wants to go toe-to-toe with Verstappen again.
“Charles [Leclerc], Max, those drivers are very, very strong. I’ve been racing with them since the very beginning,” he added, with Leclerc Ferrari’s hottest prospect and now in F1 with Sauber.
“I know how good they are and I’m sure we’ll meet in the future again.”
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More specifically on his history with Verstappen, Ocon stated the two haven’t always gotten along, though a strong respect for each other does seem to be in place.
“[We were] not friends at all. It was a very intense fight. It came out a bit too much at some point,” he admitted.
“Now we have no problem at all, we speak well together and he is a cool guy. Back in the day it was very intense.”
