Renault’s reserve driver Esteban Ocon was left disappointed after losing his first day of running with the team due to problems with the car.
Ocon came into the team to replace Jolyon Palmer for the first practice session but was unable to set a lap time and finished 22nd due to a slow puncture on his right rear tyre and a battery issue.
Due to this, the Frenchman was unable to set a lap time, and he joked that the date was the factor behind the dramas, which continued with Palmer’s car having a dramatic puncture on the rear left tyre on the main straight during the next session, causing a red flag.
“I was really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the RS16 so it was a shame that Friday the 13th decided to pick on the team and I,” Ocon said.
“I did get a brief amount of time in the car, but I didn’t even get a timed lap so it’s too early for any real thoughts about driving the car as I didn’t have an opportunity to really push.
“The team could see the tyre was losing pressure so I was brought in [to the pits]. I waited in the garage until I could go back out on the next set of tyres then the battery had an issue so it definitely wasn’t my day!”
However, Ocon is looking forward driving in the young driver test that takes place after the race weekend.
“I can’t wait to get back in the car on Tuesday for a full day of testing.”
