EuroF3: Lotus junior ace Esteban Ocon to make FR3.5 race debut

Formula 3 European Championship leader Esteban Ocon is to make his Formula Renault 3.5 race debut at the Hungaroring this weekend.

The Frenchman, who is 18 next week, will drive with Comtec Racing at the Hungarian track, as well as in the following round at Paul Ricard.

There is a long gap in the F3 calendar, with the next round not until Imola in mid-October, when Ocon can clinch the title ahead of his closest rival, Toro Rosso's recent Formula 1 signing, Max Verstappen.

Gwenael Lagrue, boss of the Gravity Sport Management scheme that has masterminded Ocon's career since he was 12, said: "There is no other goal than Esteban getting experience of a bigger car to prepare for the future. All I can tell you is that the next step for him will be in a bigger car than an F3 one."

This could be in FR3.5 or GP2, while Gravity is also working on a Formula 1 role for Ocon.

He has had one day of testing in an FR3.5 car, when he was third fastest - behind Raffaele Marciello and Sergey Sirotkin - in a post-season run at Motorland Aragon last year.

Originally on Autosport.com