Renault reveals video of Ocon's seat fitting

Renault has shared a video of Esteban Ocon being fitted for his new 2020 race seat at the team's facility in Enstone.

The 23-year-old driver has already completed 50 Formula 1 starts with Manor and Force India since making his race debut in the 2016 Belgium Grand Prix.

But the former Mercedes reserve driver was left on the sidelines in 2019 after being ousted from the revamped Racing Point team by Lance Stroll. He'll make his return to racing with Renault in Australia in March in place of Nico Hulkenberg.

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Ocon was previously associated with the French manufacturer, and made four appearances in Free Practice 1 at Grand Prix weekends prior to racing with Manor. He has already been back in action with the squad at the end of 2019 in post-season testing at Yas Marina Circuit.

With Christmas and New Year holidays out of the way, things now get serious for Ocon as he undertakes the crucial seat fitting process for the team's new R.S.20 challenger.

A video released by Renault on social media gives an insight into the work that goes into customising the race seat for each driver on the grid.

Ocon is one of the tallest drivers on the grid, matching Red Bull's Alexander Albon at 186cm. His new team mate Daniel Ricciardo is just 178cm in height by comparison, while the shortest driver on the grid is McLaren's Lando Norris at 170cm.

Ensuring that the race seat is comfortable for the drivers is vital, given the stresses and strains on the body during a bruising two hour Grand Prix.

Ocon's first appearance at the wheel of Renault's 2020 car will be in February when all ten F1 teams convene at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first or two three-day official pre-season tests.

Renault have yet to announce when their new car will be formally unveiled to the media. So far only Ferrari and Alpha Tauri have confirmed dates for their new launches, with Ferrari in pole position on February 11 and the former Toro Rosso squad opting for a romantic date on February 14.

Ocon has already outlined ambitious targets for his return to active duty in 2020.

"My personal goal will be to make a podium during the year," he said last month. "I think that if we can do that, it will mean that we have taken a big step forward.

"So we will see. We will put the car down, we will start working around it, and then we will really set serious goals."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.