Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen Forgave Each Other for Brazil 2018 Collision

Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen have been rivals for a fairly long time. The two often engaged in fierce duels during their karting and Formula 3 days. Of late, their rivalry has taken a back seat in Formula One, owing to the gulf between their respective teams.

However, in 2018 things flared up at the Brazilian Grand Prix, courtesy an incident between the duo. Verstappen was well on his way to victory in Interlagos.

He came upon Ocon who was a lap down and he overtook him without a hitch. Unfortunately, Ocon got a better drive into the first corner, but understeered into Verstappen, tagging the Dutchman in a spin.

Naturally, Max Verstappen was furious in the immediate aftermath of the incident. After the race, the Red Bull driver stormed up to Ocon and exchanged fierce words. The situation soon escalated into a shoving match at the weighting section.

Obviously, the FIA did not take too kindly to schoolyard brawls, and slapped the Dutchman with a punishment. They handed him a 2-day community service punishment, which he served later on.

All is forgiven between Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon

In a recent interview with AUTOHebdo, Esteban Ocon revealed that neither of them brought up the incident again. In other words, both drivers put the past behind them and mended their relationship. To prove his point, Ocon quoted an anecdote from the test session in Abu Dhabi at the end of last season.

Apparently, Ocon was carrying out testing duties for the Mercedes team. The Frenchman engaged in a friendly fight with a McLaren and Red Bull car. He didn’t know exactly who manned the wheel of both cars, and the fight got a bit out of hand.

The tussle got to a stage where the trio almost crashed into each other at the hairpin. When they got out unscathed, it later transpired that the mystery drivers were Verstappen and Lando Norris. The good news is that they laughed a lot about the incident and nothing serious came of it.