Michael Schumacher’s inspiration, Lapland adventures and becoming a superhero – Getting to know the real Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon is the final driver to experience F1.com’s quickfire Getting to Know questions. From growing up admiring Michael Schumacher to an amusing series of interviews after his driving test, and his passion for superhero comics to a potential side quest tuning cars, the Haas man shares all in the video player above and transcript below…

Can you describe yourself in three words?

Three words to describe myself… Motivated, a hard worker, and I don’t know… Maybe I’ll let the people comment on the last one!

Drop it in the comments…

Exactly!

What made you fall in love with F1? Is there a moment watching on TV as a kid that stands out?

Yeah, I think Michael Schumacher was the driver who made me fall in love with F1. I remember watching the Monaco Grand Prix where he was leading and then suddenly after the tunnel… You couldn’t see back then, the quality in the tunnel was not so great… I saw him with not all the wheels attached to the car, and he lost that race. For some reason, that broke my heart at the time. I didn’t know him so well, I’d heard people talking about him, but those moments shock you as a kid. That is still in there somewhere. It’s quite a moment that strikes me.

When and where did you first drive something?

The first time… I remember I had a little Ferrari with pedals. We were living in a very small flat with my parents, my parents put it outside the door for an evening, and I remember the following morning I went to take the car and it wasn’t there – I got it stolen. It was a heartbreaking moment, really. That was the first thing I drove when I was young.

It’s sad to hear that… But it worked out okay in the long run!

Yes, yes!

There’s a lot of pressure on this next question… How many times did it take you to pass your driving test?

It took me one month in total. In France you have to do 20 hours minimum. I passed everything first go. I was very proud because the teacher basically told me, ‘You were the best I’ve had in a while’. I was like, ‘Pretty good, then!’, I was happy. It was quite a stressful time, because there were some journalists who were outside. The [instructor] didn’t know what they were here for, because I was already testing F1 before I got my driving licence. I really didn’t want him to know, because if he had a bad thought, he would not have given it to me, but he said I was the best in a while, so I was happy.

Already like going to the TV pen after your driving test, then…

(Laughs) Basically that, yeah!

Who’s your best friend inside the paddock?

It has to be Lance [Stroll] and Mick [Schumacher]. We really got along super well, also outside the track, so they are my two best friends around the F1 paddock.

Which three F1 personalities past or present would you invite to a dinner party and why?

Probably Ayao [Komatsu, Haas team boss] and Ollie [Bearman, Ocon’s team mate]. I think it would be a fun one.

Keep it in the family…

For sure, yeah. If we’ve got something to celebrate, that’s cool!

We know you’re a big fan of Marvel Comics… What is your biggest interest or hobby outside F1?

That’s a big passion of mine. I’m really into comics, Marvel Comics in particular. We have some exciting movies coming out next year, which are going to be awesome. A new Spider-Man, new Avengers. It’s going to be really cool, I can’t wait for that. I’ve got something special coming soon as well, which will be very nice, and I hope all the fans will love it! It’s going to come before the end of the year, so stay in touch…

Outside of that, I like doing sports with the people I love, mountain biking, going to the gym together… But I’m a big petrolhead as well, going to work with my dad on cars, on racing buggies, on go-karts, I like to put my hands into it… RC (Remote Control) cars as well. It’s something I do probably a lot more than a lot of drivers. Probably Fernando [Alonso] is very similar in that case, but I like these things, for sure.

What’s your favourite film of all time?

I think it contradicts what I said before, because I’m a big fan of Marvel, but my favourite movie is The Dark Knight Rises, so it’s actually Batman, kind of. It’s more The Dark Knight than Batman. That has to be my favourite. It’s DC Comics, and I’m not the biggest fan of DC Comics in general otherwise, but that one with Christian Bale is something insane. Then it’s Iron Man and Spiderman!

What’s the best holiday you’ve been on?

I think the last holidays that we had with my family were amazing. Going to the sea… I think it doesn’t really matter where you are going, in the end it’s who you spend it with. Going with my love, my family, and I think that’s the best thing. There’s nothing more that matters.

And what about the craziest travel experience you’ve had?

Probably going to Lapland or something. That’s insane. You land, everything’s frozen, then you get to drive to the hotel or a little house, all the cars have spiked tyres otherwise you don’t move forward, it’s minus 40 [degrees]… Yeah, that’s probably the wildest experience. Seeing people with the dogs that they carry, like Santa!

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

It’s a good question. I think it has to be from my dad. When I was young, we were sacrificing a lot, I didn’t have a normal kid’s life when I was 10 or 12. He told me, ‘The most important time of your life is now, it’s what’s going to define your future. If we succeed, you will not have any regrets’. That was probably the best piece of advice, because you put everything negative on the side and you just go for it. Yes, I didn’t have a normal childhood, but here I am living the dream and living the best life possible.

Which other job do you wish you could try for a day? A superhero, maybe?

(Laughs) That would be nice! If I could jump in an Iron Man suit and take off… I would like to spend a bit more time tuning cars, but from the electronics point of view. I’ve got a lot of people I know very well who spend a lot of time on dynos, trying to get more power out of the engines. I’m very good at understanding the outside hardware of things, but not the software inside – it’s quite complicated, once you start to put numbers… That’s the bit where I would like to learn a bit more, so doing an internship in some dyno testing would be nice.

Otherwise, I don’t know, maybe… It’s still related to cars, but swapping seats with some drift championship guys would be nice. Not for too long, but for a day! I did the WRC (World Rally Championship) as well already, which was insane. There are so many things to try, really. I was talking with my girlfriend not too long ago, and obviously I still have a long time to be racing, but I’ve done that all my life. I’ve never really thought about doing something else, because that’s all I wanted to do. One day it will come, and I will have to think about that, so let’s see!

What’s your proudest moment in F1 so far? A few spring to mind, but what’s top of the list?

Well, it has to be my win in Budapest [in 2021] – that’s the most crazy one. Monaco 2023 was also very special, because that was unexpected, but it was on merit – it was very well-deserved. I’m not going to say Brazil last year was not on merit, because it was, but it’s more conditions that levels up the cars. I take less credit for the Brazil drive than the one in Monaco, for some reason. Even though it was much harder in Brazil than Monaco… Monaco we were not supposed to be on the podium… Also not Brazil! (Laughs) But Monaco rewards you on the dry and it is special, the quali lap, and nailing all the laps in the race. Both are special, but I will definitely take Monaco.

I think I’ll remember that Brazil weekend for the rest of my life…

It was crazy! It was crazy… Especially in a tough time like I had at the end of last year. It reminds me and gives me the confidence that I’m here and I can do it. At the end of the day, I’m here because I’ve proved that I can do it, and it definitely felt nice.

Finally, where do you want to be in five years’ time?

World Champion! That would be nice… It’s all the matters.