Esteban Ocon

Early life

Esteban Ocon was born in Évreux, Normandy to Sabrina and Laurent Ocon. Laurent Ocon is a mechanic who owns a garage in Évreux. His family is of Spanish origin hailing from Málaga.

Karting

Ocon entered karting in 2006, when he finished eighth in the French Minime Championship, subsequently winning the championship in the following year. His success continued in 2008, as he won the French Cadet Championship. On the back of that victory, Ocon began the first of his three seasons in the KF3 kart category. He would ultimately win the French KF3 title and finish as runner-up in the WSK Euro Series in 2011, his final season before stepping up to cars.

At the age of 14, Ocon was signed by Gravity Sports management, a sister company of Renault F1 team.

Formula Renault 2.0 Series

In 2012, Ocon made his début in single-seaters, taking part in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Koiranen Motorsport. He finished fourteenth with four-point-scoring finishes, including podium at his home round at Le Castellet. He also contested a partial campaign in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps with Koiranen, finishing seventh with two podiums, both of which came at the Red Bull Ring.

For 2013, he decided to switch to the ART Junior Team. He took three podiums, as well as his first victory at Le Castellet and finished season on the third position in the standings.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

Ocon joined the World Series by Renault's 3.5 category for Comtec Racing at Hungaroring and Le Castellet, scoring two points in his first race.

Formula Three (2014)

Ocon made his Formula Three début at the Macau Grand Prix, racing for Prema Powerteam. In 2014 he expanded his collaboration with Prema into FIA European Formula Three Championship. He was on top position of the standings since first round at Silverstone and won the championship with a round to spare.

GP3 Series (2015)

On 11 March 2015, it was announced that Ocon would enter the series with ART Grand Prix. He claimed the championship despite only scoring one victory (two other victories were denied due to penalties) and pressure from Luca Ghiotto.

DTM (2016)

Ocon drove for Mercedes-Benz in the first 10 races of the 2016 DTM season, alongside his reserve driver role at Renault Sport F1. He was subsequently replaced by Felix Rosenqvist, following his promotion to Manor.

Formula One (2016–present)

Ocon took part in the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 21 November 2014, driving for Lotus F1. He also took part in post race testing in Barcelona with Force India. Prior to his claiming of the GP3 title, it was announced that he would enter the junior programme of the Mercedes F1 team. In February 2016, it was announced that Ocon would act as reserve driver for the Renault Sport F1 team.

Manor (2016)

On 10 August 2016, it was announced that Ocon would drive for Manor Racing in the second half of the 2016 Formula One season, replacing Rio Haryanto who became the team's reserve driver. Ocon made his Formula One debut at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix, classified second-last. This was followed by a string of last-classified finishes, before finishing 12th in the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix after dropping out of the points on the final lap.

Force India (2017)

On 10 November 2016, Force India announced that they had signed Ocon for the 2017 Formula One season as part of his multi-year contract with Mercedes. He scored his first Formula One point in his first race for Force India in Australia. He finished 10th in the first three races of the season. He then finished 7th at the Russian GP, and continued the points streak with an impressive 5th place at the Spanish GP. He currently stands at 8th in the drivers' championship, following the Austrian Grand Prix. Following that, he recorded 8th place in front of his teammate. He followed up with 9th in Hungary. He is currently 8th in the standings with 45 points and 11 points behind his teammate.

Career summary

* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA European Formula 3 Championship results

(key)

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicates fastest lap)

* Season still in progress.