Esteban Ocon has revealed that his switch to Haas in Formula 1 has provided him the “very good environment” he was after following a tense departure from Alpine.
The Frenchman believes the stable environment has helped his growing bond with team-mate Ollie Bearman, resulting in one of the strongest partnerships on the grid.
Ocon moved to the American outfit following a challenging campaign with Alpine, where tensions with childhood karting rival Pierre Gasly were often in the spotlight.
Although daunting at first, Ocon is now fully settled in the team and he has explained how Haas has helped him find a sense of stability within the crazy world of F1.
“I feel very comfortable in this team,” Ocon told media including Motorsport Week.
“They are really pushing in the right direction. Everybody is trying to do the best they can and there is really a competitive spirit. So I feel at home really.
“There is a very good atmosphere. Myself and Ollie as well. We really get along super well.
“We had a partner event yesterday and we drove together two hours and a half. So we had some good chats about a lot of things. Not only racing.
“It’s nice to have such a healthy environment. That’s helping us to stay on track and to also have one voice together to try and help the development for the future.”
Bearman keeping Ocon on his toes
A big part of the comfort he feels comes with the relationship Ocon has built with his 20-year-old rookie team-mate Bearman, whom he described as a “hooligan”.
“We have a little bit of the same passion,” he expanded to Autosport.
“Except that he’s a hooligan! At Goodwood, we had this challenge of who’s going to bring back the biggest slick tyre after the run.
“He just figured out some ways of overthinking the computer on the gearbox… I would not have had the balls to do something like that!”
Rather than undermining his partnership with Bearman, Ocon has insisted that any challenges that they have encountered during the season have strengthened it.
Even after a clash at Silverstone, which cost Haas potential points, the pair still held immense respect for one another.
“[With Ollie] I probably have the best relationship out of all the team-mates I’ve had,” he added.
“We really get along super well, and it’s nice to have such an atmosphere inside the team and the track.
“With the team boss as well, because sometimes the team boss can be quite disconnected from what’s happening inside the engineering room. We are all united, which is good.”
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