As of the2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Ocon has achieved one race win, one fastest lap and four podiums in Formula One. Ocon is contracted to remain at Haas until at least the end of the 2026 season.[1]
Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane was born on 17 September 1996 inÉvreux,Normandy to Sabrina Khelfane and Laurent Ocon, a mechanic who owns a garage in Évreux.[2] His paternal family is originally fromMálaga, Spain, and his mother has roots in Algeria.[3][4] While competing in karting, his parents decided to sell their family home, which included his father's garage, to fund his karting career. After selling the house, they lived and travelled to races in a caravan Ocon also used as a motor home.[5] Ocon admitted that he almost gave up on his racing career to work atMcDonald's.[6]
As of 2022[update], Ocon lives inGeneva, Switzerland. Besides his native French language, Ocon also speaks English, Spanish and Italian. In 2023 Ocon began a relationship with model, social media influencer and formerMiss Côte d'Azur Flavy Barla having split with his previous girlfriend Elena Berri (whom he had started dating in 2018) earlier in 2023.[7]
Ocon enteredkarting in 2006, when he finished eighth in the Minime class of the French Championship.[8] He won the championship in 2007 and continued his success by winning the Cadet class in 2008 ahead ofAnthoine Hubert andPierre Gasly.[9][10] He then spent three years racing in theKF3 category and competed in theSpanish Championship andItalian Open Masters. He won the French KF3 title in 2010 and finished as runner-up in theWSK Euro Series in 2011 behindMax Verstappen.[11] At the age of 14, Ocon was signed by Gravity Sports management, a sister company ofRenault F1 team.[12]
Ocon continued his collaboration with Prema into the2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship.[18] He topped the standings at the first round atSilverstone Circuit and remained in the lead of the championship for the rest of the season.[19] With two rounds to spare, he made a brief appearance in the2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series withComtec Racing.[20] Ocon was crowned FIA Formula 3 European champion with three races remaining, ahead ofTom Blomqvist andMax Verstappen. He finished on the podium in twenty-one of the thirty-three races, winning nine, and recorded fifteen pole positions.[21] Ocon made a second appearance at theMacau Grand Prix in 2014. He qualified fourth for the main race but was eliminated by a multi-car collision on the first lap.[22]
Ocon moved to theGP3 Series for2015 withART Grand Prix.[23] Despite only scoring one race victory (two other victories were denied due to penalties),[24] he won the championship by eight points ahead ofLuca Ghiotto.[25] Ocon recorded three pole positions and fourteen podium finishes (including nine consecutive second-places) from eighteen races.
Ocon drove forMercedes-Benz in the first ten races of the2016 DTM season, alongside his Formula One reserve driver role atRenault.[26][27] He scored two points finishing ninth in the first race atCircuit Zandvoort, before he was promoted to a Formula 1 race seat. He was replaced byFelix Rosenqvist following his promotion.[28]
Ocon's first experience of a Formula One car was on 22 October 2014, driving theLotus E20 atCircuit Ricardo Tormo as part of a two-day test forLotus F1 Team.[29] A week later, he completed a test in theFerrari F10 atFiorano Circuit as a prize for his FIA Formula 3 European title.[30] In November, he made his Grand Prix weekend debut for Lotus during the first practice session at theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix.[31]
In May 2015, Ocon was called up byForce India to drive at the post-race test inBarcelona, afterPascal Wehrlein was forced to withdraw due to illness.[32] Prior to him claiming the GP3 title, it was announced that Ocon would enter theMercedes Junior Team.[33] In February 2016, it was announced that Ocon would also act as reserve driver for theRenault Sport F1 team for the2016 season.[34] He took part in Friday practice sessions at four Grands Prix for the team.
On 10 August 2016,Rio Haryanto was dropped from thebackmarkerManor Racing team after his sponsors had failed to meet their contractual obligations. Ocon was named as his replacement for the second half of the season, driving alongside Pascal Wehrlein.[35][36] Ocon made his Formula One debut at theBelgian Grand Prix, finishing sixteenth.[37] He earned his best result of twelfth in the rain-affectedBrazilian Grand Prix, dropping out of the points positions on the final lap.[38] This result placed Ocon 23rd in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of Haryanto.[39]
On 10 November 2016,Force India announced that they had signed Ocon for the2017 season as part of his multi-year contract withMercedes, withSergio Pérez as his new teammate.[40] Ocon scored his first Formula One point in his first race for Force India at theAustralian Grand Prix,[41] and scored points at the next four races including fifth place at theSpanish Grand Prix.[42]
Following a twelfth place finish at theMonaco Grand Prix,[43] Ocon recorded twelve consecutive points finishes but was often involved in incidents with teammate Pérez. At theCanadian Grand Prix, Pérez ignored requests from the team to let Ocon past to challengeDaniel Ricciardo for third place.[44] The two drivers collided at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, forcing Pérez into retirement and giving Ocon a puncture.[45][46] They made contact again at theBelgian Grand Prix, where Ocon was squeezed towards a wall leading up to the Eau Rouge complex. Ocon later remarked that he was "furious" with Pérez and that he "risked [their] lives". Force India team ownerVijay Mallya stated that the repeated incidents were "very concerning" and that he would enforceteam orders thereon.[47][48]
Ocon started theItalian Grand Prix in third place after theRed Bull drivers faced penalties, the highest grid position of his career.[49] He went on to finish the race sixth.[50] He spent much of theMexican Grand Prix in third place and eventually finished fifth.[51] His streak of finishing twenty-seven consecutive races ended at theBrazilian Grand Prix, where he collided withRomain Grosjean on the first lap.[52] He finished his first full season in Formula One eighth in the drivers' championship, scoring 87 points to Pérez's 100.[53]
Ocon continued alongside Pérez at Force India in2018. Ocon's first points of the season came with a tenth-place finish at theBahrain Grand Prix.[54] At theAzerbaijan Grand Prix, he was involved in a first-lap collision withKimi Räikkönen that ended his race, whilst teammate Pérez went on to claim a podium finish.[55] Ocon retired with an oil leak at the next race, theSpanish Grand Prix.[56] He recorded five more points finishes before the summer break, but retired from his home race, theFrench Grand Prix, after a first-lap collision withPierre Gasly.[57]
After Force India's financial collapse and the purchasing of its assets by Canadian businessmanLawrence Stroll – father ofWilliams driverLance Stroll – during the summer break, the new owners confirmed that Ocon and Pérez would remain with the team for the rest of the season. It was later revealed that Ocon had an "informal agreement" to joinRenault for2019 before the team unexpectedly signed Daniel Ricciardo, leaving Ocon's future in doubt.[58]
AtRacing Point Force India's first race, theBelgian Grand Prix, Ocon achieved the joint-highest starting position of his career with third and went on to finish sixth.[59][60] Ocon and Pérez collided on the first lap of theSingapore Grand Prix, causing Ocon to crash into a wall and end his race. The team described the collision as "unacceptable" and banned the drivers from racing each other. Pérez later apologised for his role in the accident.[61] Ocon was disqualified from eighth place at theUnited States Grand Prix after his car was found to have exceeded fuel flow limits.[62] At theBrazilian Grand Prix, he collided with race leaderMax Verstappen whilst attempting to un-lap himself, damaging both cars. Both drivers were able to continue racing and Ocon received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for the incident.[63][64] They argued just after the race (in which Verstappen finished second) and pushed each other several times.[65] Both drivers were summoned by theFIA and Verstappen was ordered to undertake two days of public service "at the discretion of the FIA" for making deliberate physical contact with Ocon.[66]
Ocon finished the season twelfth in the drivers' championship, scoring 49 points to Pérez's 62.[67]
For the 2019 season, Ocon was replaced at Racing Point byLance Stroll. There was an agreement in principle for Ocon to move toRenault, this subsequently fell through.[68] Ocon joined Mercedes as their reserve driver for2019 to drive theirMercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+.[69] Ocon did not take part in a Grand Prix weekend during the year. He claimed to have been in discussions with Mercedes for the2020 season, remarking that he was "very close" to replacingValtteri Bottas at the team. Mercedes ultimately decided to continue with Bottas.[70]
Ocon joinedRenault for 2020, signing a two-year contract and marking his return to Formula One as a full-time driver. He replacedNico Hülkenberg and partnered withDaniel Ricciardo.[71] Ocon qualified fourteenth on his Renault debut at theAustrian Grand Prix and finished eighth.[72] He was running in seventh place at theStyrian Grand Prix when he retired with a cooling issue.[73] At the70th Anniversary Grand Prix, he was issued a grid penalty after impedingGeorge Russell in qualifying and started fourteenth,[74] but improved to finish eighth in the race.[75] His best race finish since 2017 came at theBelgian Grand Prix, where he qualified sixth and finished fifth behind teammate Ricciardo.[76][77]
Ocon's brakes caught fire during asafety car period at theTuscan Grand Prix. The team was unable to repair the damage during thered flag period which occurred soon after, and Ocon failed to make the restart.[78] He experienced further mechanical retirements at theEifel Grand Prix and theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix.[79][80] He qualified seventh for theTurkish Grand Prix and made his way into third place by the first corner, but separate collisions with Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas resulted in him finishing outside the points in eleventh place.[81][82]
Ocon started eleventh at theSakhir Grand Prix.[83] He had improved to fifth place by lap 54 of 87, assisted by collisions on the opening lap and drivers making second pit stops. Avirtual safety car (VSC) period followed, which third-placedCarlos Sainz Jr. and fourth-placed Ricciardo attempted to take advantage of by entering the pits. However, the VSC period ended whilst they were in the pit lane, nullifying their advantage and promoting Ocon to third place. He was soon overtaken by Sergio Pérez, however pit stop issues for the leading Mercedes cars allowed Ocon to claim his first Formula One podium by finishing second, Renault's best race result since2010.[84][85] He ended the season twelfth in the drivers' championship, scoring 62 points to Ricciardo's 119.[86]
Renault rebranded asAlpine F1 Team for the2021 season. The team signed two-time world championFernando Alonso to partner Ocon after Daniel Ricciardo left forMcLaren.[87][88] In the team's first race as Alpine, theBahrain Grand Prix, Ocon wasrear-ended bySebastian Vettel in theAston Martin. Ocon finished the race thirteenth and Vettel later apologised for the incident.[89] Ocon was classified ninth at theEmilia Romagna Grand Prix ahead of Alonso in tenth,[90][91] earning the team their first points under the Alpine name.[92] His first retirement of the season came at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix with a turbocharger failure.[93][94] He struggled with tyre wear and finished fourteenth at theFrench Grand Prix,[95] qualified seventeenth for both theStyrian andAustrian Grands Prix and retired from the latter after a first-lap collision withAntonio Giovinazzi.[96] Prior to the French Grand Prix, it was announced that Ocon had signed a contract extension with Alpine running to the end of 2024.[97]
Ocon started eighth at theHungarian Grand Prix.[98] Multiple collisions ahead saw him promoted to second place at the first corner, which became first place when race leaderLewis Hamilton pitted for dry-weather tyres one lap later than the rest of the field. Ocon held on to the lead for the remainder of the race, fending off Sebastian Vettel to take his and Alpine's maiden Formula One victory.[99][100] This win was followed by points finishes at the next three races. TheTurkish Grand Prix took place in damp conditions and Ocon finished tenth having run the entire race distance on one set of intermediate-weather tyres.[101] This was the first time a driver had completed a full race distance without making a pit stop since1997.[102]
A collision with Antonio Giovinazzi at theUnited States Grand Prix broke Ocon's front wing and ultimately led to retirement.[103] A fifth-place finish at theQatar Grand Prix was followed by a near-podium at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix; Ocon briefly led the race at its first restart and ran in third place for most of the race, but was passed byValtteri Bottas shortly before the chequered flag, finishing just 0.102 seconds behind.[104][105] Ocon ended the season eleventh in the drivers' championship, scoring 74 points to Alonso's 81.[106]
Alpine retained Ocon and Alonso for the2022 season.[107] Ocon finished seventh at the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix despite receiving a penalty for colliding withMick Schumacher.[108] He qualified fifth and finished sixth at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix where a close battle with Alonso ended with Ocon being ordered by the team to hold his position.[109][110] A crash in practice for theMiami Grand Prix forced him to miss qualifying and start last on the grid.[111] He recovered in the race to finish ninth and was promoted to eighth when Alonso received a penalty.[112] At theSpanish Grand Prix, Ocon qualified twelfth and finished seventh, ahead of Alonso, after holding off the fast-chargingLando Norris.[113] Ocon finished ninth at theMonaco Grand Prix but was demoted to twelfth by a penalty for colliding with Lewis Hamilton.[114]
At theBritish Grand Prix, Ocon qualified fifteenth due to battery issues and retired from the race with a fuel pump problem, despite the significant upgrade packages brought to theAlpine A522.[115][116] Five points finishes followed, including fifth at theAustrian Grand Prix.[117] Ocon qualified fifth at theBelgian Grand Prix but was demoted to sixteenth by an engine component penalty.[118] He recovered in the race to score points in seventh place.[119] He started seventeenth at theSingapore Grand Prix having experienced brake problems in qualifying and then retired from the race with an engine failure.[120][121] Ocon's best result of the season thus far came at theJapanese Grand Prix, where he held off Lewis Hamilton to finish fourth.[122] Ocon was eliminated in the first qualifying session and started eighteenth at theUnited States Grand Prix; he finished eleventh after taking newpower unit elements and starting from the pit lane.[123] He was involved in separate collisions with teammate Alonso in theSão Paulo Grand Prix sprint, with the damage to his car dropping him to seventeenth place.[124] He recovered to score points in the race.[125]
Ocon ended the season eighth in the drivers' championship, equalling his best result previously achieved in 2017. He scored 92 points to Alonso's 81.[126]
For2023, Ocon gained a new teammate in former karting rival Pierre Gasly as Alonso departed toAston Martin.[127] His training was impacted prior to the start of the season when he got "very sick" with a lung virus.[128]
At the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, Ocon received penalties for being out of position on the grid, failing to serve the penalty correctly and for speeding in the pit lane. He eventually retired from the race with mechanical issues.[129][130] He started sixth and scored his first points of the season at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing eighth. Running in tenth place at the final restart of theAustralian Grand Prix, Ocon was involved in a heavy collision with teammate Gasly, who apologised for his role in the incident. Ocon crashed in qualifying at theAzerbaijan Grand Prix. Alpine then made changes to his car underparc fermé conditions, forcing him to start the sprint race and the main race from the pit lane.[131][132] During the race, Ocon ran on the hard tyres until the last lap. Photographers began to enter the pit lane, not realising Ocon was yet to pit, and narrowly avoided being hit by his car.[133][134]
Ocon started third at theMonaco Grand Prix afterCharles Leclerc ahead received a penalty.[135] Ocon held off Carlos Sainz Jr. in the first half of the race but lost a place to George Russell during the pit stops. A mistake and a penalty for Russell allowed Ocon back into third place, earning him his third career podium and theDriver Of The Day award.[136][137] More points came at theSpanish andCanadian Grands Prix and in the rain-affectedAustrian Grand Prix sprint race where he held off Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Lando Norris. In the main race, Ocon finished outside the points after receiving a penalty for an unsafe pit box release. Post race, he received another four penalties for track limits violations, totalling 30 seconds.[138] His five penalties for the Grand Prix gave him the record for the most driving penalties in a single race in the history of Formula One.[139] Consecutive retirements followed with a hydraulics leak at theBritish Grand Prix and a first-lap crash at theHungarian Grand Prix. He improved from fourteenth on the grid at theBelgian Grand Prix to score points in eighth place.
Ocon retired from theItalian Grand Prix "for safety reasons" due to a steering issue.[140] He then retired from sixth place at theSingapore Grand Prix with a gearbox problem, his fourth non-finish in six races.[141] He finished theQatar Grand Prix in seventh despite the hot weather conditions causing him to vomit into his helmet.[142] His seventh retirement of the season came at theUnited States Grand Prix after a collision withOscar Piastri. Ocon started sixteenth at the inauguralLas Vegas Grand Prix, avoided collisions to improve to eighth on the first lap and climbed to fourth place by the end of the race. He ended the season twelfth in the World Drivers' Championship with 58 points, one place and four points behind teammate Gasly.
Ocon continued alongside Gasly at Alpine for2024. During pre-season testing, he noted that the team were "on the back foot".[143] The Alpine drivers qualified nineteenth and twentieth for the season-openingBahrain Grand Prix, which Gasly described as "not a surprise".[144] The Alpine did not reach the second qualifying session of a Grand Prix until Ocon did so at the third race, theAustralian Grand Prix; however, Ocon still finished sixteenth.
Ocon claimed the team's first points of 2024 at theMiami Grand Prix, improving from thirteenth on the grid to tenth at the finish. He qualified eleventh at theMonaco Grand Prix but retired after colliding with Gasly on track, for which he apologised and claimed responsibility.[145] A week later, Alpine announced Ocon would leave the team at the end of the season.[146] During theCanadian Grand Prix, Alpine imposedteam orders forcing Ocon to give up P9 to Gasly, who was in better position to attack Daniel Ricciardo. However, after Gasly failed to pass Ricciardo, Alpine did not ask Gasly to give the place back to Ocon, upsetting Ocon.[147] Ocon scored points at theSpanish andBelgian Grands Prix.
Ocon did not score points for the next six races, but Alpine picked up a double podium (its first podium of the year) at the rain-affectedSao Paulo Grand Prix, with Ocon finishing second and Gasly third. Ocon led the race for a period but was overtaken by eventual winner Max Verstappen.[148]
Ocon was replaced byJack Doohan for the season-endingAbu Dhabi Grand Prix.[149] Formula One's website reported that Alpine required Ocon to leave the team one race early in exchange for releasing him toHaas for the Abu Dhabi post-season test. In a message on Instagram, Ocon thanked the team and wrote that "this is not how I wanted things to end."[150]
Ocon joinedHaas on a multi-year deal from2025 onwards, partnering rookieOliver Bearman.[1] After Haas struggled for performance at the season-openingAustralian Grand Prix,[151] he finished fifth at theChinese Grand Prix following disqualifications for bothFerrari drivers, achieving his first points finish in theVF-25.[152] He finished eighteenth inJapan on an alternate strategy.[153] After crashing out of qualifying and starting fourteenth inBahrain, Ocon climbed to eighth on an alternate strategy.[154] He claimed fourteenth at theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix.[155]
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. * Season still in progress.
^"Esteban Ocon".Motor Sport Magazine. 9 July 2015.Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved27 April 2017.
^"Ocon e Pakari pronti per il debutto" [Ocon and Pacari ready for debut].ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. 13 December 2011. Archived fromthe original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved13 December 2011.