Esteban Ocon

Interesting facts

Esteban Ocon comes from a modest family in Normandy - his parents sold their house, including his father's garage, to fund his karting career, and the family lived in a caravan while travelling between races. Ocon has said he nearly gave up racing altogether and considered working at McDonald's instead. He won the 2014 Formula 3 European Championship ahead of Max Verstappen, then took the 2015 GP3 title as well. At Force India he clashed repeatedly with teammate Sergio Pérez, colliding in Azerbaijan in 2017 and being forced toward the wall at Eau Rouge in Belgium the same year, a move Ocon angrily said had put their lives at risk. At the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix he collided with race leader Verstappen while trying to unlap himself; the two pushed each other after the race, and the FIA ordered Verstappen to perform community service for deliberate contact. In 2019 he was left without a race seat and worked as Mercedes's reserve driver, later saying he came close to replacing Valtteri Bottas. He scored his maiden Formula One win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix for Alpine, inheriting the lead after first-lap chaos and holding it to the finish, including passing Lewis Hamilton after his later pit stop. Esteban Ocon has been racing in Formula 1 since 2016 as a French driver. He scored a total of 486 championship points over his career. His best season was 2017, when he finished 8th in the championship with 87 points.