Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has praised Esteban Ocon’s impact at the team, despite the lack of racing so far in 2020.
The young Frenchman will make his return to the Formula 1 grid this season in the place of Nico Hulkenberg after a year on the sidelines at Mercedes.
Of course, due to the coronavirus, a championship that should be six races old by now hasn’t started yet, but while Ocon hasn’t had chance to prove himself on the track, he’s doing all he can off it.
“I can’t say much about the on-track yet with us,” Abiteboul told Sky Sports. “I know what he’s done with Force India, with Manor, and previously in his career.
“But what he has said, what he has done already with us is invaluable. He walked into the factories, maybe a bit more so in the French factory in Viry, and immediately the sort of halo of goodwill, of trust, of loyalty, of pride, that walked with him through the factory is quite unique.
“Frankly, it was remarkable when for the first time Daniel [Ricciardo] walked into the factory in the UK in Enstone. But it’s equally remarkable the sort of attitude of Esteban when he walked into the factory in France, probably for different reasons.
“But this combination is very exciting, and I can’t wait to see it in action.”
Despite still having aspirations of returning to Mercedes, Ocon may well find himself in a Charles Leclerc-type scenario at Renault as the young charger who can establish himself as the man to lead the team forward.
And Abiteboul explained how important that motivation the 22-year-old brings is.
“He knows the job he has, he knows where we are, the journey, what he has to do on track, but also off track,” he said.
“I’m not denying the fact we are still in the making, there is still an awful lot that needs to be done at a team level, and we need aspirational drivers.
“I don’t believe, frankly, that it’s just the job of a team principal to lead the team.
“It’s actually, probably, more the job of a driver to do that because at the end of the day we’ve got a bit more than 1,000 people who are working day in day out for something, and that something is the two drivers who get the responsibility to drive the race car.
“We know very much it’s at the back of our mind that when we go for drivers, clearly it’s his pace, his talent, but also his attitude off track, and that’s very much what I can already say about Esteban.”
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