Is Esteban Ocon from a rich family? Everything about the background of under-fire Alpine driver

Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon has been racing in the sport since 2016 and has raced for Force India [now Aston Martin], Renault [now Alpine] and Manor Racing during his time in the sport. He was born on September 17, 1996, to Sabrina Khelfane and Laurent Ocon, a mechanic who owns a garage in Évreux, Normandy.

The Frenchman endured a pretty tough childhood as his parents had to sell their family home and his father's garage to support his karting career. The family used all their money to invest in Ocon's junior career and traveled to races in the caravan, which they also used as a motorhome.

He won several karting championships such as the Cadet Class of 2008 at the French Championship, and the French KF3 title in 2010 while finishing runners-up to his future rival Max Verstappen in the WSK Euro Series in 2011.

He finished third in the Formula Renault Championship in 2013 racing for ART, and finished behind his current Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. He managed to win the GP3 series in 2014, racing against the likes of Luca Ghiotto and Verstappen.

Esteban Ocon went on to make his debut in F1 with Manor Racing in the second half of the 2016 season after the team dropped Rio Haryanto. His short stint with the backmarker was followed by one at Force India, paired with Sergio Perez, in 2017 and 2018.

Ocon was dropped by the rebranded Racing Point F1 team in favor of Lance Stroll for the 2019 season and had to sit out the season while acting as the reserve driver of the Mercedes F1 team. He returned to the grid with Renault in 2020, replacing Nico Hulkenberg, and has been with the French team ever since.

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F1 pundit gives blunt advice to Esteban Ocon after his shenanigans at the Monaco GP

F1 pundit Martin Brundle stated that despite Esteban Ocon's speed behind the wheel, he feared his antics against his teammates might cost him a potential opportunity to drive for a front-running team in the future.

In his column for Sky Sports, the former F1 driver wrote:

"Ocon is a fine and fast racing driver, but history clearly demonstrates that he has an irrational red mist when it comes to racing, particularly against his team-mates.

He has been heavily criticized before by Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso for his intra-team aggression and contact, and now Gasly too. It will cost Esteban heavily as no front-running team would entertain that kind of mentality, or even perhaps any team."

In the aftermath of his collision with Gasly in Monaco, Alpine F1 team boss Bruno Famin suggested that Esteban Ocon would face 'consequences' for his involvement in the crash.