"My time will come," says Esteban Ocon, as he muses over his F1 career so far, and reiterates his belief that one day he'll be in the frame to challenge for the world championship.

Many would already be envious of the stint that the Frenchman has enjoyed at the top level of motorsport, with him racking up over 120 grand prix starts, accumulating 400 career points, and also of course achieving three podiums - including that famous win in 2021 at the Hungaroring.

He's yet, though, to drive for a team that is regularly fighting for victories and championships, despite showing that he has the mettle to win titles having done so lower down the motorsport ladder.

The belief in eventually getting that opportunity, however, is unwavering:

"I've always believed that if you work hard enough, your time will come," he tells GIVEMESPORT.

"I've had many of these steps in my career where I didn't have the right things coming for me. Like when I won the F3 title in 2014, but then Max [Verstappen] stepped up to Formula One, and I didn't have a chance to go to Formula One.

"But I thought I'll just focus on myself, let's try and just keep going and do a good job, get the results, and things will come for me. And that's still what I believe now.

"I want to be world champion. That's the only thing that I think about. When I'm coming into an F1 paddock, I'm not just here to participate and score points. That's what we have to do at the moment but in the end, I don't care about scoring points - I want to win and get podiums.

"So it is tough to think that probably the best thing you can do is to score points at the moment and extract the maximum out of the car, though still very satisfying, because I'm not here to just score points, I'm here to win."

On or around the grid since 2016, it's easy to forget that Ocon is still only 26, and when you look at the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso's longevity, he still has more than enough time to achieve his ultimate aims in the sport.

Indeed, he was a month shy of his 20th birthday when he made his first appearance for Manor at the Belgian GP seven years ago, making him one of the youngest F1 debutants in the sport's history. Since then, he has become a firm fixture on the grid, and an integral part of the operation at Alpine:

"Time flies!" Ocon says as he reflects on his career up to this point.

"There was a time where I was the youngest, but that's not the case anymore. I feel very established now in Formula One. I've scored a lot of points, I've been on the podium, and I've won a race as well.

"Obviously I've done many seasons and I'm driving for a works team and it is very special that they have trusted me for many, many years.

"I'm still young, but time flies and you realise how important it is to take the opportunities when you have them because you're not sure that they're going to come again. The more I drive, the more I enjoy being around, racing awesome cars, and this is what I've been dreaming my whole life to do."

Clearly, it's not lost on Ocon that he has a very special opportunity in F1, that very few even get to experience, and whilst here he, like the other 19 in the pack, wants to make the very most of it.

Over his career, he's experienced life at teams towards the rear and the front of the field, either as a race driver or a reserve, but it is in the midfield we've largely seen him compete thus far, for the likes of Force India, Renault, and now Alpine.

Important for knowledge gathering, of course, but Ocon says now is the time for him to be racing right at the front:

"[Driving for different teams] only makes you a more complete driver, and I've not only driven in Formula One, but I've also done a lot of different categories. I've driven in DTM at its peak when there were tyre blankets, DRS and all the technology into it. I've done a lot of different things in my career, and that still helps me to have the experience and to know what to do at what moment.

"When I was at Mercedes, even if I was not driving the car every weekend, I still tested with them, I still drove the car a lot, drove their simulator, and I carried a lot of things forward to Renault at the time, and I still carry things from those days. It's great to have experienced it all, but now I think it's time that I experience more at the front!"

And that, then, is the task that he and Alpine are trying to tackle.

This year, there has been some fine highs for the team, including Ocon's podium in Monaco and team-mate Pierre Gasly's third place last time out at Zandvoort, but ultimately they are at least a couple of rungs away from challenging regularly for race victories.

They have the makings of a quick car, and have shown that at times this season, but an extra level of performance and consistency is being sought by the team before they can be considered a real force at the front.

As someone that has been in and around their Enstone HQ for much of his career, Ocon is very well-placed from the driver side to try and unlock those final steps, and feels at home in doing so:

"I'm definitely involved in most of the discussions that there is in this team and especially for the development of the car. It's been like that since I joined in 2020 but obviously, my voice has more weight now.

"The team has seen that when there is an opportunity I take it, and I'm very happy to do that. I have had the trust of everyone for so many years now. I hope that we can keep going and take the team to the next level in the short term future.

"I've been working super hard since the beginning of the time that I came here, and they've seen that following what I have said has meant we are going in the right direction.

"It's great to see that it's working and that I don't need to change my approach. I have found something that has worked for many years and when I'm doing it right, I get the result that comes with it. There's nothing more rewarding than doing something, putting a lot of effort in and having the result. That's just the best feeling in the world."

Indeed, when things have fallen favourably for Ocon, he has shown on more than one occasion that he can deliver the goods.

As ambitious and driven as you'd expect any F1 driver to be, he is convinced the hard work will eventually pay off - and it's clear there's no room for thinking otherwise.