Reporter sorry for calling F1 driver 'French f--k'

F1 driver Esteban Ocon has accepted an apology from a TV reporter who called him a "French f***" in an interview with McLaren's Lando Norris.

The comments were made by interviewer Jack Plooij from Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport after last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

Ocon and Norris engaged in a battle during qualifying when the Renault driver tried to get Norris to overtake him so he could take advantage of a tow. Norris qualified 10th before finishing seventh for the race but he seemed frustrated by Ocon's actions

"I was behind the Renaults (on the out lap), and they were going extremely slowly," Norris said.

"You're not allowed to really go that slow unnecessarily anyway and he did, so I had to pass them and therefore I just didn't have any slipstream.

"It's probably a grey area because you can do it in the last corner, but only because you're in traffic and you have to leave a gap to the guy ahead. But in the middle of the racetrack … to go that slowly was just a bit dangerous. That's all I've got to say."

Plooij then jumped in.

"That French f--k, was driving dangerously you said? Did you speak already to him?" to which Norris responded with a laugh.

However, the Dutch presenter offered a formal apology to Daniel Ricciardo's Renault teammates.

Ocon quickly replied "Apologies accepted mate!"

Renault heads to Monza this week motivated by "massive" improvements in Belgium, according to Ocon.

Asked if the French manufacturer could fight for a top three finish, Ocon said he is optimistic about their chances.

"Yeah, we can. There's 10 more races to go, so we are only in the beginning of the season, more or less," he said.

"There's a long, long way of course, but it's very nice to see that we are coming into that fight very nicely.

"We need to get consistent at scoring and we don't want to have a second Barcelona for sure.

"But when there are opportunities like this coming, what's important is to get the points and that's what we've done this weekend."

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