Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon was born on September 17, 1996, in Évreux, Normandy, France. His journey to Formula 1 is one of the sport's most remarkable underdog stories. Growing up in modest circumstances, Ocon's family sold their home and lived in a caravan at racing circuits across Europe to fund his karting and junior racing career. His father worked as a mechanic, and every cent the family earned went towards keeping Esteban racing.

The sacrifices paid off. Ocon won the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in 2014, beating future F1 star Max Verstappen, and the GP3 Series title in 2015. These results, combined with his Mercedes junior driver status, earned him an F1 debut with Manor Racing in 2016 before moving to Force India for 2017-2018.

At Force India, Ocon established himself as a quick and determined racer, regularly scoring points and engaging in fierce battles with teammate Sergio Pérez that occasionally spilled over into controversy. However, when Force India went into administration and was reborn as Racing Point, Ocon found himself without a seat for 2019, spending the year as Mercedes' reserve driver.

He returned to the grid with Renault (later Alpine) in 2020 and has been a consistent performer ever since. The highlight of his career came at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, where he took a sensational maiden victory. Starting from the front row after a chaotic first-lap pile-up, Ocon held off Sebastian Vettel for the entire race to win in one of the most popular results of the season. The emotional scenes on the podium — with Ocon in tears thinking of his family's sacrifices — moved fans around the world.

Ocon has continued to develop at Alpine and now Haas, known for his fighting spirit, defensive racecraft, and ability to extract maximum performance from his machinery. His journey from living in a caravan to F1 race winner embodies the spirit of determination that makes motorsport so compelling. He remains one of the most respected and admired drivers in the paddock for both his talent and his character.