The first thing you notice about Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon is that he’s tall. At 6’1”, Ocon isn’t exactly a giant in the real world, but in the paddock at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, the 25-year-old Frenchman practically towered over his competitors. Which is not exactly an advantageous position in a sport where it pays to be petite: Before he can blitz around the twisty streets of Monaco, Ocon has to stand on a stepstool and origami his whippet-thin body into the cramped cockpit of his Alpine car. It looks incredibly uncomfortable (and is, his mechanics assured me).
If there’s any clear benefit to being the tallest driver in F1, it’s that Ocon looks pretty good in clothes. In the Alpine motorhome in between press conferences and Monaco GP strategy meetings, Ocon explained that he’s trying to figure out how to take full advantage of that fact: “Next Saturday actually, we are having a... How do you call it? Designer? No.” An Alpine publicist clarified: they’re meeting with a stylist in Paris. “They’re going to help me dress how I want and all that, so that's cool,” said Ocon, who helped debut a collaboration between Alpine and Berluti at last month’s Miami Grand Prix.
If the fashion bit feels new, that’s because until recently, Ocon’s entire life was racing. It sort of had to be, out of necessity. Unlike many of the other young drivers on the grid, Ocon comes from a solidly blue collar background. His dad was a mechanic in Normandy, and Esteban’s parents had to sell their house to fund his junior karting career. Even once he scored an F1 seat in 2016, though, Ocon had to fight exceptionally hard to keep it. Two teams he’s raced for have gone bankrupt, and when one of them, Racing Point, was purchased by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll in 2018, Ocon was the last man standing in F1’s ruthless game of musical chairs.
Luckily, Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive and a schedule full of new races has turned F1 into the coolest sport in the world, and the French team Alpine needed a marquee young star who could help lead them into the sport’s social media era. Ocon was called back up in 2020. So far, he’s become a fan favorite for his gutsy performances on track, which culminated in a maiden victory at last year’s rain-soaked Hungarian Grand Prix. In Monaco, he finished in 12th after a late penalty, but not before putting on some of the most thrilling defensive moves of the race. Will he replicate the success off track? “There's nothing more rewarding than working hard and seeing that it's working,” as he told me during a quick break before the race. In other words: you can count on it.
GQ: Did the win in Hungary change your life? When you woke up the next morning, did you feel different in any sort of substantive way?
No. But I woke up and had a pair of slippers [next to my bed] that said "Winner" on them. No—that's not true. That's not true at all.
Did you sleep with the trophy?
Oh, yeah. Well, I kept it in bed, and then I let it go during the night. But yeah, I did. I think the win brought confidence in the fact that we are working in the right direction. And I think that's superb, because there's nothing more rewarding than working hard and seeing that it's working.
How does it feel to see Formula 1 expand its reach into other cultural spheres? Fashion is obviously a big one. Does it feel like the expectation has changed in terms of how many different things you touch as a public figure?
Yeah. I mean, it's awesome. It really shows how good the sport is at the moment and how much interest it brings to not only hardcore fans, but to the whole public. I can feel that when I go out for work or when I go to the supermarket at home or something like that, I see people recognizing me, and asking for pictures, and stuff. I think, in general, Netflix has helped. There's a lot of interest from all the people, and that's fantastic.
What was it like seeing the Berluti x Alpine collection come together, and getting that window into the high-fashion space?
Yeah, it's mega. It's mega because yesterday, they delivered me some clothes before an event we had last night. We took some pictures for social media. It's such a cool brand, and it really is class. It's not something that I'm particularly an expert on, but when you dress up sometimes well, and I have for Berluti events, it looks good.
Have you picked up some tips about your own personal style from the experience?
Yeah. When some pros are helping you to dress up, I guess it can't be better. Next Saturday actually, we are having a... How do you call it? Designer. No. Stylist, stylist. There's a stylist that's going to help me dress how I want and all that, so that's cool.
Does that feel like a natural step for you?
Well, every day that we come to work at the paddock, we are always dressed the same. It always has to be black jeans. Has to be the shoes from the team kit. Has to be the same type of T-shirt every time. So to dress differently and to have the experience of pro people helping you, it's cool because I had no experience of that before. It opens up possibilities, and you discover stuff, which is cool.
Who decided that the uniform would be black jeans?
Well, I don't know! But we can arrive on Thursday without the team kit. We need to have the team kit during the press, during the days of work, but we can arrive on Thursdays free and how we want, so it’s going to be cool just to dress a bit differently compared to usual.
Your dad was a mechanic, and you grew up working with him in his shop. Does that translate at all into how you work with the team now, and how you understand the car?
Definitely. I think it has helped me on the mechanical point of view, that's for sure. When there is a reliability issue or something like that, I'm able to translate it maybe more mechanically compared to some other guys. But I think, more importantly, it has made me tough in a way that mentally. I've been living through a lot worse than anything I can go through during a race or during a weekend. Because if I'm here, it means that everything is going well. I remember in my school, people just coming and telling me, ‘Oh, yeah. Maybe you should not continue and go towards that route in go-karting,’ because it's a little bit like tennis. One hit, and can be all over. I remember these people telling me that, and I thought, ‘You will see if that happens.’ I need to see those guys again and tell them that they were wrong.
What would you be doing if you weren't driving Formula 1? Have you ever thought about that?
Probably something with an engine. Maybe I’d be a motocross racer, or supercross. I really like watching supercross.
Do you think you're one of the only F1 drivers who could fix their own car?
Maybe. I can't speak for the others, but I would do pretty well.
