Ocon: 'Everything is going against me for me to restart'

Esteban Ocon will return to the grid this weekend after over a year on the sidelines, and not a moment too soon for the Renault driver who believes that fate is perhaps trying to keep him away from F1.

After an impressive first two seasons in the sport with Force India, Ocon was forced to relinquish his seat to Lance Stroll when the latter's father took over the team.

The Mercedes protégé spent 2019 waiting in the wings as the Silver Arrows squad's reserve and simulator driver before he was recruited by Renault to replace Nico Hulkenberg for this season.

• Renault says Ocon will not receive 'preferential treatment'

But Ocon's return to active duty was then delayed by the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, a setback that tested the Frenchman's patience.

"It seems like everything is going against me for me to restart," he jokingly told reporters before heading to Austria. "I'm smiling here but I'm crying deep inside.

"Last year was very difficult. This year, it's a different feeling because I'm in a great team, I have a great challenge ahead, with a competitive car and I look forward to restart for sure.

"But having that in mind, you have a target, which is very different to when you're trying to find a challenge ahead of you. [This season] I knew what I was working for, I knew how much I wanted it, and I'm hungry to restart for sure."

After getting reacquainted with F1 during pre-season testing in Barcelona in February, Ocon got a chance to warm-up for his race return during a private test with Renault at the Red Bull Ring two weeks ago, running in a 2018 car.

"I felt good, restarting in the car last week," said Ocon. "It's been so cool to get back to a real track after spending so much time doing esports – getting back to the real track felt awesome.

"Going back out of the garage is a special feeling after such a long time. And it didn't take me long to get back up to pace. I felt good, I felt sharp, I felt quick, so definitely ready to restart in Austria."

So desperate and impatient is Ocon to return to the fray that he isn't taking any chances with his health, enforcing all the necessary precautions to keep the COVID-19 virus at bay.

"I'm changing everything – there's not one single thing that I do the same in my life," he explained.

"When I travel or as soon as I go out to get some food at the supermarket or anything, everything's different.

"It would be crazy to have waited so long, to have prepared that much and arrive and be positive at the test for myself, or risking myself to be positive and [creating] risk for the team.

"So I'm definitely massively careful. Risk-zero doesn't exist unfortunately, but you can take some out if you're careful."

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