Esteban Ocon: The Resilient French Champion

The growth of a plant usually begins at the seedling stage - and the story of Esteban Ocon is quite similar. Starting his career with karting, he kickstarted his campaign with the French Minime Championship in 2004 and he won in 2007, 2008, and 2011 and bossed them. He even outperformed the future compatriots Anthoine Hubert and Pierre Gasly in the French Cadet Championship. 

The single-seater career began in 2012 with Renault before the breakthrough 2014 campaign where he registered the FIA European Formula 3 Championship ahead of Max Verstappen. In the following year, Ocon clinched the GP3 Series title with remarkable consistency.

The Start of the Formula One Journey

Esteban Ocon’s F1 debut came halfway through the 2016 campaign with Manor Racing replacing Rio Haryanto at the Belgian Grand Prix. Ocon went on to impress the fans and the management, got the full-time seat with Force India in 2017, and finished with an impressive eighth in the championship as a rookie. 

After a year as Mercedes reserve driver in 2019, Ocon returned to racing in 2020 with Renault, securing his first podium with second place at the Sakhir Grand Prix. His crowning achievement came the following year when he claimed a stunning maiden victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with the first win for the newly-formed Alpine F1 Team.

In the next seasons with Alpine, Esteban Ocon showed consistency and resilience. In the 2022 campaign, he helped the side secure fourth place in the constructors’ championship while in 2023, he won third place with Monaco. While 2024 proved challenging for him, he did not disappoint in Brazil as he ended up with the second-placed finish. 

New Beginnings with Haas

After spending five seasons with the Enstone-based team, the French international is now with Haas F1 Team for the new campaign, partnering with rookie Oliver Beaman. He is ninth on the points table with 14 points in the ongoing campaign.