F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ocon handed fourth FP1 run with Renault in Germany

Esteban Ocon will drive for Renault again during the opening free practice session at this weekend's German Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old took part in his third FP1 session of the season for Renault at Budapest - following a couple of appearances in Barcelona and Silverstone - before carrying out two days of testing for Mercedes at the British Grand Prix venue.

Although he is part of the Mercedes driver program and contests this year’s DTM with the German manufacturer, Ocon is Renault's third and reserve driver and will again be in the R.S.16 at Hockenheim on Friday.

After driving Kevin Magnussen’s car in Hungary, the Frenchman will deputise for Jolyon Palmer in Germany.

Ocon has been tipped for a full-time role at Renault next year, but team principal Frédéric Vasseur insists no decision has been made regarding next year’s driver line-up.

“We are at that time of year when we are asked these questions, but the questions and the speculation often happen before any decision is made,” he said.

“What I can say is we have two good drivers, who are improving weekend after weekend. Let’s not forget that Jolyon is a rookie and that Kevin only had one year driving full-time at McLaren then a year not racing.

“They are both doing a strong, solid job and work very well within the team. I have a strong relationship with them both and they know what is expected of them. Within the team we are very happy together. We will make our decisions for 2017 in our own time.”

Scene at the 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix

Hungarian Grand Prix - Quotes of the week

Technical analysis - Budapest

DRIVER RATINGS: Hungarian Grand Prix

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Ricciardo ‘grateful’ to Red Bull for calling the end to his F1 career

There was a time when former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo thrived on instinct, late braking,…

10 hours ago

Audi’s first reality check: No short-term fix for one costly weakness

A sense of unease is beginning to settle over Audi’s fledgling Formula 1 campaign, as…

12 hours ago

Alpine issues fiery open letter on Colapinto and social media hate

Alpine has turned to social media to address the storm of backlash following last weekend’s…

13 hours ago

A salute to Sir Jack - trail blazer extraordinaire

F1 legend Sir Jack Brabham, one of Australia's greatest sportsmen, was born on this day…

15 hours ago

The dawn of the GMR-001: Genesis ignites its WEC ambitions!

Feast your eyes on the Genesis GMR-001, the sleek new titan ready to shake up…

16 hours ago

Stroll set for GT World Challenge debut at Paul Ricard

As a sudden forced hiatus puts a halt on Formula 1 this month due to…

17 hours ago