When you first meet him, you think Esteban Ocon hails from the deep south of France. There's the tanned skin, the sheer intense wiriness of him, and of course the name Esteban: suggesting the dramatic landscape of the Pyrenees, with its colours and flavours that link France and Spain from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
In reality, he's from the opposite end of the country - born to a family with Spanish roots - in the Norman town of Evreux, which is closer to Enstone in England (555km) than it is to the border with Spain (around 850km). Viry-Chatillon, the Renault F1 team's other base, is a mere 120km away.
So, it's an Anglo-French marriage made in heaven - but only after a long courtship. Ocon, don't forget, was a Renault test driver in 2016. His earliest steps in car racing were in Formula Renault (in 2012), and he first drove an F1 car during a grand prix weekend for 'Team Enstone' in 2014, when it was Lotus - taking part in free practice at the Abu Dhabi GP.