Esteban Ocon is one of the top midfield drivers on the 2024 Formula 1 grid, so here is everything that you need to know about the ace currently racing for the Alpine team.
The Enstone outfit signed Ocon to drive for the team from their final campaign still racing as Renault in 2020. It marked his return to Formula 1 after a year on the sidelines in Mercedes’ garage as a reserve driver. He fell off the grid in 2019 after two years racing with Force India.
Mercedes also helped Ocon break into F1 with backmarker, Manor, in 2016 after driving for the Silver Arrows in the DTM. They gave him a seat in the German touring car championship on the back of the Frenchman winning the 2015 GP3 Series title during his rookie campaign.
Alpine star Esteban Ocon was a Mercedes junior driver
Ocon has enjoyed a fruitful racing career ever since he first competed in go-karts in 2005. He took Minime class honours in the Championnat de France Regional Ile de France in 2005. He also took the Minime (2007) and Cadet (2008) honours in the Championnat de France.
His 2008 Cadet title even saw Ocon beat his future Alpine F1 teammate, Pierre Gasly, as well as the late Anthoine Hubert. But it was also during the 2008 Championnat de France season that Ocon and Gasly’s relationship fell apart having been friends from the age of six until 10.
A move to competing on the continent also yielded KF3 honours in the Italian Trofeo Grifone in 2011. While Ocon switched to single-seaters in 2012 before his first title followed with the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. He won nine of the 33 races and had 15 poles.
One win from three pole positions in 18 rounds was enough for Ocon to secure the GP3 title in 2015. The Frenchman even won on his debut in the series now called Formula 3. He took the first race of 2015 over the F1 Spanish GP weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Beating Max Verstappen to the 2014 Formula 3 title and backing it up with the GP3 title saw Mercedes sign Ocon to their young driver programme in 2016. His decision to join the Silver Arrows would also lead to his Formula 1 race debut before the Manor team went bankrupt.
The Ocon family sold their house to fund his karting career
Ocon’s family had bet everything on his racing career, as well, having sold their family home to fund his karting. His first taste of go-karts was a chance encounter but left him infatuated with racing aged just four. His dad would be Ocon’s truckie, mechanic and logistics manager.
The Ocon family’s risk paid off when he debuted at the Belgian GP in 2016 and continued to show promise near the rear of the field. His early form would secure Ocon a switch to Force India for 2017, with whom he scored points on debut at the Australian GP with a P10 result.
But Ocon often clashed with teammate Sergio Perez and lost his seat at Force India after the 2018 season, by which point they ran under the Racing Point name. Ocon also suggested on Twitter after the 2017 Belgian GP that Perez ‘tried to kill me two times’ to defend a position.
A year on the sidelines as Mercedes’ reserve driver followed Ocon’s departure from Racing Point. But Renault gave him a route back to the pinnacle of motorsport in 2020 and it led to his debut rostrum. Ocon got his first podium in F1 at the 2020 Sakhir GP with second place.
A chaotic start to the 2021 Hungarian GP as Valtteri Bottas put Lando Norris into Verstappen and also hit Perez even saw Ocon win his first race with Alpine. The Frenchman stayed out of the carnage in the wet at Turn 1 before defending from Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
But who really is Ocon and what is the Alpine driver’s life outside of Formula 1 like? Well, F1 Oversteer takes a look at everything that you need to know about the French racing driver…
How old is Esteban Ocon? What is the Alpine driver’s age?
At the time of writing, Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon is 27 years old. He was born in 1996 on September 17 to parents mum, Sabrina Khelfane, and dad, Laurent Ocon. The Alpine F1 star has no siblings and is also the only child of his parents, who did all they could for his career.
Where was Esteban Ocon born? What is his nationality?
Esteban Ocon was born in the French commune of Evreux, the capital of the department of Eure. Evreux has a decreasing population with estimates for 2024 placing its total at 44,500.
How tall is Esteban Ocon? What is his height in feet?
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is the joint-tallest driver on the Formula 1 grid in 2024 alongside Williams star Alex Albon. The pair stand at 1.86m tall – or 6 ft 1 in feet – while Ocon’s Alpine teammate, Pierre Gasly, stands at the average height of the 20-strong field at 1.77m (5 ft 9).
Esteban Ocon’s net worth
As of the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season, Sportskeeda cited Esteban Ocon’s net worth at $21m (£16.5m). His various personal endorsements boost his yearly earnings by $6m (£5m).
Who is Esteban Ocon’s girlfriend? Does he have a wife?
Esteban Ocon has been dating his girlfriend, Flavy Barla, since 2023. The F1 star had split up with his Italian model ex, Elena Berri, earlier in 2023 after five years. Flavy, who is a medical student and won 2022 Miss Cote d’Azur, visited her first F1 race at the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP.
Esteban Ocon’s Formula 1 career stats
As of the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season, Esteban Ocon of Alpine had entered 133 Grand Prix and started each. He made his debut at the Belgian GP with Manor in 2016 after a spell as Renault’s reserve. Ocon also won his first F1 race at the Hungarian GP in 2021 for Alpine.
The post Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside of F1 from net worth to girlfriend appeared first on F1 Oversteer.