Force India’s Esteban Ocon races in Canada for the very first time this weekend, and sees the Montreal venue quite simply as “an American-French place!”

But Ocon knows there’s obviously a lot more to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that its bilingual environment.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed an impressive season to date, his first full year of F1 racing after hopping on the Grand Prix bandwagon with Manor at Spa last summer.

Monaco was the first event in which he failed to score points, so getting back his mojo in that department will be a major focus in Canada.

“Although I haven’t driven in Montreal, I know the place already from my visit last year,” Ocon says.

“I know the lap from being on the simulator, and I’ve always liked the circuit characteristics.

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“It’s definitely a cool event because everybody in the city supports the race and Canada really loves Formula 1. It feels like a big party in the streets, especially on the Saturday night.”

While it will be his first race in Montreal, Ocon isn’t talking about his relative inexperience anymore as he now considers himself a fully fledged F1 driver.

“After the bad luck in Monaco I want to get back to scoring points in Montreal. The car is getting better with each race and I think I’m fully up-to-speed now.

“I’m really happy with the team and the way we work together – we’ve already built up a good understanding and they know what I need from the car.”

 

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