Ocon explains what sparked the tension between himself and Verstappen
F1 News
Esteban Ocon will return to the Formula 1 grid after a year on the sidelines. Towards the end of his first stint in the sport, he had a coming together with Max Verstappen in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver was lapping Ocon, but the two drivers touched. The incident caused fireworks after, with Verstappen paying the Force India driver a visit in his garage. But according to the Frenchman, this isn't the first time the two have clashed.
"We are professional drivers, so the important thing is not to create any issues and what happened last time on track, happened on the track and we have to think separate. But, of course, there was some tension back in the days when we were racing really closely, but we always had respect between each other and that's important," Ocon told ESPN.
"We were racing really closely in karting as soon as we met, but also with Charles, it was probably even more fiery with him. When I left karting they were still racing together and it was fireworks a few times in karting and then in Formula 3 we were racing for the title, and it was a big rivalry like it has always been in any sport between two guys. But as I said, the most important is to think on-track and think off-track. Off-track has to be respectful and that's how it is."