Esteban Ocon defends Lewis Hamilton as Brit hunts Michael Schumacher record – EXCLUSIVE

Esteban Ocon has jumped to the defence of Lewis Hamilton as he looks to equal Michael Schumacher’s race wins record.

Hamilton’s success with Mercedes is occasionally questioned because he drives the most dominant car on the grid.

But Ocon, who was contracted to the Silver Arrows before joining Renault DP World F1 Team, insists the Brit does not have it easy.

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“Well, hats off because obviously he has been on the top of his game for a long, long time,” Ocon told Express Sport ahead of tomorrow’s Eifel Grand Prix.

“Seeing him work closely… people think ‘oh he is just talented, he jumps in the car and he has a Mercedes and it does everything for him’. That is not true.

“He is working very hard with his engineers, he is guiding them to good directions. He is guiding the team and improving their confidence the right way.

“I think they are going to be competitive again. I don’t see them dropping the order but everyone is working hard and they can catch the pack up.”

Renault are fifth in the Constructors Championship, so can they kick on and stop Hamilton in his tracks when they rebrand to Alpine in the new year?

“That’s what we would like definitely,” Ocon said. “We would like to catch that gap but we are still very far off.

“We still have a long way to go, even if we are progressing.”

Esteban Ocon was talking to Express Sport thanks to team sponsor, DP World. Check them out at dpworld.com.

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source: express.co.uk