Esteban Ocon is looking for a clean race this weekend at the Suzuka International Racing Course, something that he has not achieved yet in his four-race Formula 1 career to date.
The Manor Racing driver has finished all four races but heads into the Japanese Grand Prix eager to put a complete weekend together, and is looking forward to his first experience of Suzuka, often thought about as one of the greatest race tracks on the calendar.
“The first thing I did when I got here was to run the track,” said Ocon. “It’s a very technical circuit – the figure of eight, the great mix of low, medium and high speed corners.
“I wanted to see it for myself as soon as possible and it’s a very impressive track that I think I’ll enjoy. There are a lot of variables to think about here – it’s a high downforce circuit, so we need to get the best compromise set-up because we suffer a little aerodynamically. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into my programme on Friday now.
“I’ve had some very positive moments over the past four race weekends, including a strong qualifying in Sepang last weekend. But a clean race has so far eluded me, so I’d like a more complete weekend here in Japan, to show more of what I’ve learned and my performance as an F1 driver. That would be nice.”