Ocon brings Renault’s pre-season test to a close

Finley Crebolder
Esteban Ocon was 'very close' to 2020 Mercedes seat

Esteban Ocon was 'very close' to 2020 Mercedes seat

Esteban Ocon completed 143 laps in Renault’s 2018 car at the Red Bull Ring today, bringing their two-day test to an end.

The French team have been testing at the track in Speilburg to prepare for the season opener that will be held there at the start of July.

Daniel Ricciardo kicked things off yesterday, completing a total of 115 laps, and Ocon surpassed that total today.

The Frenchman completed 143 laps and covered a total distance of 614km. Considering he hasn’t been in F1 since the 2018 season, the experience would have proven hugely useful for him.

The team are having to run their 2018 car as restrictions prohibit 2020 cars being used prior to the first race weekend. Mercedes did the same at Silverstone.

Racing Point and AlphaTauri meanwhile are running their current machines. they are doing so by classing their tests as filming days. Therefore they’re allowed to complete far less distance and have to run testing tyres.

Renault had hoped to do testing in either France or England but were unable to do so due to coronavirus related travel restrictions. Therefore, they did so at Red Bull’s track, something that Helmut Marko wasn’t too happy about.

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