F1 Gossip News: Renault Reserve Driver To Get More Outings

May 19, 2016 12:14 PM EDT | Shilpa Chakravorty

Renault reserve driver Esteban Ocon, has recently mentioned that he will be getting more outings in free practice sessions for Formula 1 this season.

The GP3 champion, got his first exposure of the season during last weekend in Spain, but his run was cut short due to a puncture and a battery issue, according to Auto Sport. Notably, he had a more productive day when he completed 105 laps for Renault on the first day of his season testing in Barcelona.

Ocon's best time was approximately three seconds more than that of Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. Although Ocon is confident that he will get a few more chances in FP1, yet it is uncertain if he will be replacing Kevin Magnussen or Jolyon Palmer.

Additionally, Nicholas Latifi, the GP2 racer who joined Renault as a test driver, will also take part in at least one Friday Session this year.

"It's good to finally be running with decent mileage," Ocon mentioned. "It's important for me and important for the team to get a lot of laps.

Ocon will be back on track on Wednesday, when he will be back for Mercedes.

In other news, Daniel Riccardio, who is presently competing for Red Bull, wants Red Bull to run Renault's engine upgrade before Monaco. The upgrade, which was scheduled for the Canadian Grand Prix, is expected to bring a significant change in Red Bull's performance.

Although Riccardio doesn't expect it to be a match for the Mercedes engine, yet he appreciates the Red Bull's efforts.

"The progress is definitely there," he said to ESPN. "Now to make that next step will be...that is the last little step I think we are after to try to really get on Mercedes, but we are getting closer, and that is obviously exciting."

Monaco , unlike Canada, is a non power - sensitive site, and Riccardio prefers to have his engine updated before he hits the tracks.

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