Esteban Ocon finished a remarkable third in Monaco (Photo: Getty)
Esteban Ocon has boldly claimed he could challenge Max Verstappen for the F1 title he was racing alongside him at Red Bull.
Verstappen looks set to cruise to a third straight world championship in 2023, withthe RB19 car far, far quicker than its rivals, while teammate Sergio Perez has endured a rotten run of form lately.
Red Bull have won all eight races so far this season, with Verstappen victorious in six of them and the gap between him and Perez currently stands at 69 points.
Though the Mexican has received some criticism for not challenging the Dutchman to a real title race, many would argue that Verstappen is simply unbeatable at the moment and would win regardless of who his teammate was.
That’s no the opinion of Alpine driver Ocon however, who backs himself to take the fight to Verstappen despite getting beaten in the standings twice by Perez when they were teammates at Force India.
The 26-year-old told DAZN: ‘Sure, I see myself fighting with Verstappen, fighting for a world championship if we had the same car. Now Max is doing an incredible job – he is dominating with Red Bull.
‘But I don’t care which driver it was. I want to fight for the championship. I have always believed in myself. We have a long road ahead of us, but my goal is to be world champion, nothing more.’
Max Verstappen is cruising toward a third straight F1 title (Photo: Getty)
Ocon has driven for midfield teams his entire career but is a proven talent picking up three podiums including a maiden win at Hungary in 2021 and a shock third at Monaco last month.
Prior to his F1 debut, he actually beat Verstappen to the 2014 Formula 3 European Championship title but has often received criticism from his teammates, including Perez and Fernando Alonso, for being too aggressive on track.
At Brazil 2018, Verstappen physically confronted Ocon after the Brazil Grand Prix in 2018, pushing him aggressively several times after they had a collision on track that cost the Red Bull man the win.
Ocon is ninth in the standings after eight races (Photo: Getty)
The Frenchman reportedly came close to partnering Sir Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes back in 2019 and though he is contracted to Alpine until the end of next year, it sounds like he is open to joining a bigger team should the opportunity arise.
He added: ‘I don’t know what the future holds. At the moment I feel very good in Alpine. I feel we are progressing and I have full confidence.
‘But in F1 you never know the future. I know the sacrifices I’ve made and everything I’ve had to go through to be where I am. But this is just the beginning.
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‘In a way I’ve always been the leader of the team. I have always led my team forward by saying what I need, when we can do it, if we can manufacture this piece. And always pushing me part of the team to do it.
‘I’m delighted with how I work with the people around me and we have to continue like this.’
The 2023 F1 season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix on 2nd July.
MORE : Sergio Perez’s ‘below par’ performances mean F1 title race is already over, says Jenson Button
MORE : Daniel Ricciardo dreaming of ‘fairytale’ return to Red Bull
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‘My goal is to be world champion, nothing more.’
