Of all the Formula 1 drivers on the current grid, Esteban Ocon undoubtedly had the most remarkable childhood. While a large portion of the driver field comes from privileged backgrounds, it is well known that the Ocon family struggled to make ends meet. In a new interview, the Frenchman reflects on the period when his family lived in a caravan to get his racing career off the ground.
Many Formula 1 fans know that Ocon had to finance his karting days on a tight budget. The family home and car garage were sold to make ends meet, while his father Laurent served as both mechanic and engineer. Although the current Haas driver won French championships in succession and quickly moved on to international competitions, karting did come at the expense of his school life. In an interview with the French YouTube channel Legend, Ocon opens up about how pursuing his Formula 1 dreams clashed with his studies.
“I would come home from the race on Sunday evening and be at the school gates by Monday morning,” Ocon said. The family’s caravan would then simply be parked in front of the school building. “It was easier to drive straight back, as we didn’t really have a place to sleep at the circuit,” he explained. “We could stay with my cousin, but if it got very late, we might as well park the caravan in front of the school. You can imagine that I didn’t have many friends,” he chuckled cautiously. “Many would shout: ‘You’re a gypsy, what are you doing here?’ I actually gained a lot of respect for gypsies – after all, they sold us that caravan,” he joked. “But the fact that my classmates laughed at me was certainly not easy.”
‘This leads to nothing,’ said the headmaster
“I missed quite a few lessons because we had to go to the free practice sessions on Fridays,” Lando Norris continued. “Even the headmaster said at one point: ‘You should stop this. This leads to nothing, this is a sport for rich people. There’s no point in doing this.’ Well sir, thank you for trying to ruin my dreams – but I made it anyway,” Norris triumphantly declared. “However, it’s sad to tell a ten-year-old child that he can’t fulfill his dreams.”
At the age of fourteen, Norris switched to homeschooling. Not long after, he joined a management agency affiliated with Renault, which gave his career a crucial boost. After winning the European Formula 3 title, he eventually signed with the Mercedes training school. “I advise young people not to do what we did, because school is very important,” Norris emphatically concluded. “You have to work hard at school – you never know what the future holds.”
