How Ocon ended up back at the team that rejected him
Renault's decision to forego an agreement to give Esteban Ocon a 2019 race seat fractured its relationship with Mercedes. Neither side lost trust, though, and put their squabbles behind them to revisit the deal - successfully - a year later
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In August last year, Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff was left fuming when Renault abandoned its plans to take his protege Esteban Ocon for 2019 and signed Daniel Ricciardo instead.
Yet a little over a year after that rejection, Ocon was announced as a Renault driver for 2020. Wolff and Cyril Abiteboul are not only best pals again, but they also form a mutual admiration society that is rare in a world where you wouldn't be surprised to hear that a team boss has sold his own grandmother.
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