Windows: This track cannot be taken lightly

      Esteban Ocon made his Formula 1 debut in August 2016 with the now-defunct Manor team, and it was precisely at Spa. Now, with 168 Grands Prix under his belt and his first wins already on the record, the French driver from Haas says that almost nine years ago, his dreams began to come true.

      Esteban Ocon: "I didn't even think about it, but it's true: that's when my dreams started to come true. I lined up on the grid at Spa alongside drivers like Jenson Button and all the other legendary Formula 1 heroes. That weekend flew by very quickly, but I will always remember it.

      Now I am returning here in a very different situation, with completely different challenges ahead, but whenever we come to Spa, it’s always a special event—for a number of reasons. You can't take this track lightly, and I’m looking forward to the start of the weekend.

      Between the races at Silverstone and Spa, I participated in the Goodwood Speed Festival, where I also drove a rally car. It probably didn’t help me prepare for the Belgian weekend, but I gained an incredibly interesting experience!

      When I was doing doughnuts in Haas cars from previous years in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators, it was incredible! I am also grateful to Toyota not only for the opportunity to test the GR Yaris Rally1— I also got to ride in the latest GT-class concept cars, which was, of course, very impressive.

      This weekend, the team’s objective is to achieve good results, and we hope to do so. At the previous round in Silverstone, we couldn't bring everything together, and now we want to perform better. Since the Belgian weekend includes a sprint, we will have very little time to prepare, as we will almost immediately take to the track for the first qualifying session, and the truly important work will begin."