Breaking news

Formula 1 Italian GP

Third-placed starter Ocon declares: “I want my podium”

Esteban Ocon believes he can turn his third position on the Italian Grand Prix starting grid into his first-ever F1 podium finish on Sunday.

Charles Bradley

Charles Bradley

Edited: Sep 2, 2017, 5:29 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Esteban Ocon, Force India F1 VJM10

Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India VJM10

Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India F1

Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India VJM10

Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India VJM10

Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India F1

Ocon qualified fifth fastest in the wet qualifying session at Monza on Saturday, but is elevated to third due to Red Bull pairing Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo taking grid penalties.

Ocon only just squeezed into Q3, beating his teammate Sergio Perez by 0.002s, but revelled in the wetter top-10 shootout.

“It’s amazing,” said Ocon. “That’s what the team deserves, they work so hard on every aspect. To get that P3 is something amazing. 

“The car was brilliant today, a perfect balance, and I managed to push it to the limit. Now we have to keep P3 in the race – I want my podium! 

“I adjusted the car [for the conditions] but it will work in the dry like it did on Friday, so starting from there we have a big opportunity ahead and we need to keep our head down to get it.”

The 20-year-old Frenchman, whose best finish so far has been fifth in Barcelona, said he enjoyed the wet conditions of qualifying: “I've been growing up with the rain and it's fantastic to see that in a Formula 1 car I can still manage to do good stuff. 

“The team have put so much effort to get those results, and now we start third. I will go give them a big hug right now!”

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Italian GP: Top 10 quotes after qualifying

Next article Vettel puzzled by Ferrari's qualifying slump

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Charles Bradley



Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1



Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash

NASCAR Cup

NASCAR Cup

Richmond II

Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash



Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”

NASCAR Cup

NASCAR Cup

Richmond II

Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”

More from

Esteban Ocon



Esteban Ocon issues statement after Haas benching, denies physical altercation rumours

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mexican GP

11 h

Esteban Ocon issues statement after Haas benching, denies physical altercation rumours



Haas drops Esteban Ocon for F1 Mexico GP

Formula 1

Formula 1

Mexican GP

19 h

Haas drops Esteban Ocon for F1 Mexico GP



What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?

Formula 1

What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?

More from

Force India



Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders

Formula 1

Formula 1

Canadian GP

Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders



Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India

Formula 1

Formula 1

Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India



Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70

Formula 1

Formula 1

Austrian GP

Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70

Latest news



Yamaha boycotts Qatar Grand Prix amid ongoing Middle East war

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

34 min

Yamaha boycotts Qatar Grand Prix amid ongoing Middle East war



F1 2026 qualifying head-to-head: Mexico GP

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

37 min

F1 2026 qualifying head-to-head: Mexico GP



Red Bull drivers fear Mexico start, Max Verstappen jokes: “A Le Mans start would be just as quick”

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

41 min

Red Bull drivers fear Mexico start, Max Verstappen jokes: “A Le Mans start would be just as quick”



Alex Marquez skips controversial Qatar GP to undergo surgery

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

Alex Marquez skips controversial Qatar GP to undergo surgery

Feature

Discover prime content



Why Isack Hadjar deserves a medal, not a warning, after paddock "incident"

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Stuart Codling

Why Isack Hadjar deserves a medal, not a warning, after paddock "incident"



What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico GP

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico GP



What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?



Is history really repeating itself? What Christian Horner’s Adrian Newey claim says about Aston Martin and Red Bull

Formula 1

By Ronald Vording

Is history really repeating itself? What Christian Horner’s Adrian Newey claim says about Aston Martin and Red Bull

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe