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This weekend, Force India's Esteban Ocon is not only facing his first Grand Prix with his new team, but also his first ever race around the Albert Park circuit.
The young Frenchman has joined the Silverstone-based squad for 2017, having raced for Manor during the tail end of 2016 after making his F1 debut at Spa. After overcoming that initial learning curve, he is now being presented with a new one in Melbourne - on a track he is eager to experience.
"I am feeling great after a long winter and I'm very excited to go to Melbourne," Ocon said. "It will be the first time racing at Albert Park for me, so I do not really know the track, but last year I went there and I liked what I could see.
"It's a proper old-school track and these are the sorts of circuit I really enjoy. Of course it's not easy when you don't know the track in advance, so it's especially important to learn quickly in the Friday sessions and listen to the feedback from the engineers - whether it's where I can be faster or where we can make the car quicker. I think I have all the tools and all the people around me to do that."
Ocon has focused much of his attention on total preparation during the off-season, and has made extensive use of Force India's simulator. His new team performed well during testing in Barcelona as well, and this has only added to his existing confidence for the season ahead.
"I think we did a good job as a team during winter testing and I also feel confident because of all the simulator work we did over the winter," he added.
"We continue to push on the simulator and I was at the factory a few days ago doing the final preparation for Melbourne. I was very open to the team - I told them I'd be available at HQ as much as they needed me over the winter and I feel satisfied with the work we've done together so far.
"I think we're on track to extract everything we can from the car, which is our objective. We'll go out and do the best we can and see where we are."
Mason Hawker
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