Ocon on tough period: 'I cried in the parking lot'

Esteban Ocon is having another good season at Alpine, but it didn't always look so rosy for him. The driver emphasises in the Beyond The Grid podcast that he has also experienced very dark periods in his career.

The Frenchman drove at Manor Racing from 2016, before turning out for Force India in the two years that followed. That team parted ways with him at the end of 2018 to make way for Lance Stroll. Mercedes then gave him the opportunity to work in Formula 1 as a reserve driver.

Ocon thinks back to Mercedes time

During the first race in Australia, Ocon was to be part of a major testing program. Once he arrived, however, Mercedes had bad news for him, as he would not be taking the car to the track for the next six months. It caused Ocon to suffer a major mental blow.

"That was quite a big hit and I remember leaving the Melbourne track, going to the rental car and I cried in the parking lot," he explains in the podcast. "So it was definitely a lot of low moments... I don't have much problem to sleep, but I remember that night, that was not the best sleep."