You Ask The Questions: Esteban Ocon

Did you ever feel it was a burden on your family to risk it all financially for a possibility in F1? – Nicolás Orozco

Esteban Ocon: “It was obviously a lot of risk to do what we did, and a lot of sacrifice. Of course, we were living in a caravan, so yes, I had a lot of weight on my shoulders, so if you want to call it like this, you can. But when I was younger, I was not taking it this way, because I felt that I was living my dream, I was getting my chance, and I was competing race by race. I didn't see the difference between me or other drivers that had funding, much more funding than me, because my go-kart was in good state, my dad was taking care of everything, and I never lacked anything. But yes, if you take it now, probably the realisation of, yes, we were into quite a difficult scenario, yes, you would realise it by being a little bit older, clearly.”

And you hear the success stories of drivers who made it, but you never hear about the drivers who didn't make it.

EO: “Of course, I'm sure there's a lot of drivers that did sacrifice, maybe not the same way as we did, but some different ways, and that never made it, for sure. But at least trying to get your chance is something remarkable, I would say.”

You’ve known Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu for more than a decade now. What’s the best advice Ayao has given you? – Victorine Garde

EO: “Ayao is always giving the same advice all the time: do the basics right. I think that's a very good example, very good advice for everyone, because Formula 1 is so complicated that if you do your basics right, you have a solid base, and you can work from there, basically, so I think it is a very good one.”

Of all the grand prix cars that have existed since that first race in 1906, what are the top three cars you would like to drive? – Ken Buse

EO: “For me, the 2005 Ferrari, or 2006 Ferrari, these two are incredible, they are the Michael cars when he had the fully red helmet. 2004-05-06, these three cars would be the ones that I would dream to drive one day.”

As a child, Ocon was a Schumacher fan, so he would love to get behind the wheel of the title-winning Ferrari F2004

Photo by: McNeil / Sutton Images via Getty Images

How did you grow as a driver and a person when you were Mercedes reserve driver in 2019, having missed out on an F1 seat at Renault only to then join them for the 2020 F1 season? – Rian Hoskins

EO: “Yeah, it was difficult. It's actually not necessarily… I mean, it was at Renault that I was supposed to drive, but there was also another team involved at the time. And yeah, with both it created a massive mess-up, I would say, for my year in Formula 1.

“It was a tough year, that one. I was not happy, of course, to be where I was. You know, I was developing a car during the night, and doing the job of two reserve drivers, I was doing it by myself – they later had two or three drivers doing the job I was doing, so that's how much commitment I was putting in.

“Basically that car then, when I was coming to the track, was winning races, but I was not inside the seat. So it was tough, especially when I asked Shov [trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin], I think in Melbourne, I asked him, ‘When am I supposed to test?’, because I was supposed to have a lot of testing. And he said, ‘Oh, you are going to test in July’ or something, so it was three or four months from March to July, I was supposed to test in Ricard.

“I remember I went back to the rental car and I cried, because for me driving was going to be super important to get ready for the following year, so that year for me was like, stay active, try and drive as much as you can in whatever cars it is, and take as much technical feedback as you can, because they are dominating for when you will come back into the race, that was my aim, but it was long.”

The other team you were in contention for, was it Mercedes?

EO: “I am not going to mention it, but yeah, they have won the title since then.”

Mercedes considered replacing Valtteri Bottas with Ocon for 2019, but Renault and McLaren expressed interest in the Frenchman; the Enstone-based team committed to Ocon but made a last-minute bid for Daniel Ricciardo when it emerged that the Red Bull driver was available, by which time McLaren had settled for Carlos Sainz

Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images

What is it like working with Laura Mueller – what differences do you experience from the other race engineers you have worked with, and how has she helped you become a more complete driver? – David Young

EO: “There’s no difference. Of course we are working very hard to make sure that we are on top of our game. We know what we have to improve, we know what we have to do to be better, that is what we are focused on.”

What quality do you value most in other people? – Antares Korsak

EO: “I think it’s motivation, dedication, not counting hours and not doing like a 9-to-5 job. I don't count hours. If I need to develop something in the simulator on a Saturday evening, instead of going to the restaurant, I am going to do it.

“And that is what I did again this year many, many times. When an engineer tells me, ‘Oh yeah, we are on holiday’, that is something that I don't appreciate and I really take personally, because I put my soul and my heart into what I do. And I understand people have a life, but in F1 you don't have a life, and that is how it is, unfortunately.”

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

You seem to be one of the drivers with a stronger understanding of the mechanics of the cars. Have you ever considered that you could have been talented as an academic/engineer if you had not been a sportsman? – Valentina Rosas-Huertas

EO: “Of course, I have learned, the mechanic’s job, with my dad, on the go-karts, on the cars that we were working on. Yes, that’s something I got more [than] many drivers on the grid. I know a lot more of what is going on technically with the cars. And it has helped me in the past.

“But I have always wanted to be at the heart of the race car, not be outside of it working on it. Of course, if I’d failed my racing career, that is probably where I would have ended up, working with cars and working with my dad in a garage somewhere. But my passion is to be behind the wheel.

“So I am glad that I got this knowledge, and it has helped me a lot, but I prefer to be behind the wheel.”

After Fernando Alonso held off Lewis in Hungary, providing a major assist to your victory, did you take him out to dinner or do something else to thank him? How did you celebrate the victory? – Michael Sturm

EO: “We did celebrate the victory. But Fernando wasn’t there, unfortunately. We went with all the team in Hungary, in a bar. They rented the whole place. And everybody had fun. It was awesome.

“Fernando tried to hold off Lewis, but I won the race, At the end of the day, yes, he was part of it, but I did win the race. If he did hold on Lewis, I would have held on Lewis as well. So that's very important for me to keep.

“And I remember Fernando telling me, ‘It's important that you take that and that you enjoy the moment’. Because for his race, he didn't manage to enjoy it. Because they made him fly to the Czech Republic or whatever to do an interview. And we had an awesome evening with the whole team.”

After greatly contributing to Ocon's maiden F1 victory, Alonso couldn't stay in Hungary for the party

Photo by: Dan Istitene / Getty Images

If you could bring the French Grand Prix back, where would you host it? – Victorine Garde

EO: “I think a Paris GP would be incredible. That’s definitely one that I would dream about, or in the South, Nice Grand Prix or whatever, that would be something special.”

Any idea where in Paris?

EO: “Well, around the Arc de Triomphe, that would be nice. We could race on that pavement, you know, we seal them a little bit harder and we see how it goes. It would be mega, it would be mega. I mean, I know Formula E has done it in the past. So it means that if people are pushing for it, it could happen. Nothing’s impossible. It is just a matter of do you want it or not, you know. I hope that the French politicians will listen to what I say now.”

Finally, there was a lot of support for you from our readers. Jihyo Kim said: “Esteban, can you promise me that you’ll never stop doing what you love? Seeing you drive on the track is one of the greatest joys of my life.”

EO: “That's awesome. Well, I can only thank the person for that comment. It's very, very special to hear this. It makes me smile, and I will remember that when I drive in the car, definitely. But yes, I can promise.”