Say hello to Esteban Ocon. I'm not really sure we can call it a hello, it's more of a welcome back.
It is no secret that Ocon hasn't had the easiest ride in his Formula 1 career. He was a very promising karter but he didn't have the strongest financial background. His parents sold their house, left their jobs and started a life on the road in the hope to give their son the best opportunities they
could.
Esteban broke though into the single-seater scene when he won the Euro F3 championship in 2014, beating current RedBull star Max Verstappen. Success didn't stop there as in 2015 he went on to win the GP3 championship whilst racing for ART Grand Prix. Half way through the 2016 F1 season Ocon was offered the chance to replace Rio Haryanto and drive for Manor Racing from the Belgium Grand Prix and beyond.
With some aid from the Mercedes team Ocon then secured a seat in 2017 to drive for Force India. After billionaire Lawrence Stroll bought the Force India team mid way through the 2018 season it became clear that Ocon's seat for 2019 at the team was lost, and he was replaced by the owners son Lance Stroll. Mercedes failed to find Esteban a seat for the 2019 season and he found himself out of the fourthcoming championship. After a season out as a reserve driver there were rumours that he could be joining reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2020 season. This did not take shape but the Frenchman secured a seat at the Renault F1 Team.
With a long delay to the 2020 season we are yet to see how he performs alongside his teammate Daniel Ricciardo who is very much a crowd favourite. With less than 2 weeks until the first race let's wait and see if he was the right choice for the French team.