Esteban Ocon
FIA F3 European Championship, Moscow Raceway
July 2014. Rookie sensation Max Verstappen has just won six consecutive races in the FIA F3 European Championship, leaving points leader Ocon runner-up on four separate occasions. The momentum is clearly with the Dutchman and, even though he’s 74 points adrift, a title challenge beckons.
The Frenchman, outright sensational in his rookie season up to that point, arrived to Moscow knowing that he needed to stop Verstappen’s streak and return to winning ways to once more become the focus of the media.
It started well for Ocon, as he topped the first practice and led the second before a red flag ultimately gave his rivals the upper hand. But first qualifying was a different deal entirely ? he was three tenths up on everyone in sector one alone and took pole by six tenths of a second.
A comfortable win followed on Saturday as he comfortably led Jordan King off pole and to the checkered flag. And then, in the evening, he added two more pole positions to his weekend.
On Sunday, he dominated race two of the weekend, establishing a huge lead early on and turning it into a procession. The second race was much more eventful, as the Frenchman was hounded by Verstappen during two safety car restarts, but, despite some last-lap contact, Ocon won yet again.
The weekend at Moscow was Ocon’s best round in cars yet. The young man came to Russia as a hot prospect and left it as a future superstar. And, with 116 points in his pocket over Verstappen, it was obvious then and there that Ocon would be the 2014 European F3 champion.
Valentin Khorounzhiy