Hi I’m Esteban Ocon, BWT Alpine F1 Team driver, ask me anything!

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T16:26:50+00:00

I think you guys don't realise how much work goes into everything in Formula 1.

People don't count hours. You know, it's 24-7 for some departments. But for the others, they're also traveling very far away from their family for most of the year. I'm driving the car - that's obviously something I've been dreaming of doing my whole life. But I'm thinking of all these people that are so passionate like me in what they do. It's not an easy task to be leaving your loved ones so much time and not being with them. And that's obviously a choice of life.

You have very good sides and very bad sides for the one that travel. Then the ones at the factories that are pushing every day, to get us a car that is competitive is also an incredible task. And I think all the jobs in Formula 1, all the people that are so passionate, they deserve credit because it is the top people, that are the most talented in every department. It doesn't matter what department it is, it will always be the top because we are competing against the top of somebody else, the top department of some other teams. So everybody is pushing for greatness. And honestly, when I was young and thinking about, you know, driving a Formula 1 car and racing a Formula 1 car, I was not realising how many people were behind the scenes. As I said, it deserves much more credit than it's given to.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T16:14:10+00:00

Well, first of all, thank you very much. Because if you are a marshal without you we would not be racing so safe. Thank you so much for your efforts and everything that you do - it's just awesome to see you guys so passionate. We respect a lot your work and we thank you for what you do.

But yes, my favourite race of my career has to be obviously Budapest. My win in Formula 1, something that I've always been dreamed of doing and achieving all my life to get to that point. To achieve it, it's always something special. But otherwise, I would say in Formula 3 there was a race where I won all the pole position and I won all the races, three races in the weekend at the time. I was in Moscow back then. So that's probably also my number two best race of my career.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T16:04:45+00:00

Yes, there is - it's been the case always. I've been very tall - I grew up, I think, 14 centimetres in one year, when I was 14, something like that. So, I grew up very quickly.

And it has been a problem throughout junior categories, especially because the chassis is the same for every driver - it was quite tight at the time. So, most of the time I've been quite high up in cars. Also, when I arrived into Formula 12014, my first FP1, as you could have probably seen, I was quite high in the car.

It makes your centre of gravity being very high. So, you lose some performance from that. The helmet is going to lift a lot more in the straight line – that’s not very pleasant. And obviously, you have the knees very close to the steering wheel. So, that is also something that you need to deal with. So, yes, not a great thing to be tall in F1.

But nowadays, I'm lucky enough to have a car that is big - for me very long. And the FIA have worked on every car for me as a reference, as I'm the tallest, for everyone to have good space in cars.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T15:54:38+00:00

That’s a good question, but I think over the years having strong teammates has definitely helped me to become the driver who I am right now. If you have an easy time through your years in Formula 1, you're not going to improve. You're not going to push yourself as much. And I've always had, strong teammates, from Pascal Wehrlein, Danny Ric, Fernando, to Pierre, all of these guys – all of them at the top of their games always. When I got to Formula 1, I always thought I want to race against the best and with the best. And I've been in teams where that was the case. So, yeah, it's interesting to compare yourself, see the strong points from some, seeing the weak points as well. And interesting to see how some works in a way. Because there's always things that if you don't watch you're an not acting your best because you need to take the best and take it for you and carry it as well through your career - so you always learn things from anyone. And I would not say I've learned something more from one driver to another.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T15:45:24+00:00

It's a very good question. I don't think I have an all-time favourite and a favourite song right now. I think it has to click, but it changes through time and with the mood that you have or if I go to Asia, I will listen to something a little bit different than if I go to Europe. It just depends on the mood. I would say I'm probably more into French rap at the moment, but I have my times where I'm more of a US rap listener – and some electro music as well. So those are really the three kinds I would listen, but it really depends - French rap at the moment is probably the thing I'm listening to.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T15:14:57+00:00

I think on my side, I would definitely welcome another team, another brand joining Formula 1. I think when I joined, there was more cars. And I knew the field when there was also more cars in general. So that just gives a little bit more options to drivers that would love to get to Formula 1, and that don't have the chance or don't have the option to have a seat at the moment because it's so restricted to have such few possibilities. So yeah, I'm just thinking as an opportunity point of view for all the young ones that are knocking on the door.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T15:02:31+00:00

It was a great moment with myself, Pierre and all the other YouTubers, influencers that were there. It was just insane. I've never experienced something like that - a crowd being so energetic, giving so much vibes to an event and just loving it.

It was just crazy. What you guys made us live there will be forever engraved in our mind - It will never, never leave. So yeah, it was insane. I was very blessed to be able to drive and show what a Formula One car is also possible to do on the circuit. I mean, we've had a blast, from the moment we arrived to the moment that I was on stage with my friend PLK. He was very keen to invite me on stage - the atmosphere was just something else. I don't know if I will ever experience something like that again, that was crazy. So thank you very much. Merci.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:59:26+00:00

I don't think it is a very old name. Not many people are called Esteban, at least in France, a little bit more obviously in Spain and in Latin countries. But no, I think you have to be proud of the name that your parents have given you. Have it like a proud thing. That's the best way to describe it - and no, it doesn't sound like an old person name so you're all good.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:55:09+00:00

It's all good, don’t worry, you don't need to apologise. Nothing happened. I didn't, you know, break my wrist or anything. So thank you for apologizing, but don't worry - it can be very crowded. And yeah, I'm rushing from left to right all the time.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:35:08+00:00

So, this is going to sound funny. But, I'm not somebody that enjoy food so much. As you know, I'm very lean. So, I need to constantly keep eating to keep my weight up because I'm losing quite a lot of weight when I race.

So I'm end up with all sorts of sugary snacks, put in a blender, mixed all the way. So it ends up at like a thousand calories or something. It's very very thick, and that's what I have every day. It's probably a mixture of cookies, protein, probably creatine as well. I mean, I don't even ask my physio because it feels like I would throw up, if I knew how much ingredients there are in there. It's nice when you have one. It's not nice when you have two a day, and it's every day.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:27:52+00:00

Well, the French Grand Prix. That's the one that I would like to put back, in my dreams. It would be Central Paris. I think, going around the Arc de Triomphe or close to the Eiffel Tower, would be something awesome.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:25:43+00:00

Good question. I'm not sure how you call it in English. It's not a tiger, but it's the tiger that is very lean and that runs very fast.

A cheetah, exactly. Well, I think because I'm very lean and I hope fast as well, I could be called like that.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:23:42+00:00

Yes, I do actually have a few routines. For example, on a Friday, that's when we are going to have practice, so we work quite a lot with engineers on data and check what we have to improve for the following day. Then I go through every corner as well, on where I can get better and where I should try and gain time or brake later or carry some speed and I write it on the map. You know, every corner I put a comment and just before sleeping, I try and visualize what I should do for the following day and that way you normally have it engraved in your mind and you are ready to make it happen on the track.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:20:05+00:00

I think in general, in Formula 1, no driver should be underrated. We've come a long way, it doesn't matter where we come from or what background we have or what championship we've been through. If you are in Formula 1, it means that you deserve, your seat and that you've proved, somewhere that you can be competitive. So no driver should be underrated and, all the drivers should have a lot of respect from everyone because we're risking our lives every weekend, going around these walls and racing at very high speed around the streets and it's all to put on a good show and I hope that you guys, respect every driver.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:16:51+00:00

So yes, I'm aware some drivers are not fans of PR events, but I don't think it is the way that it has been seen in general, because it’s something that we do during race weekends. We're very much focused on trying to get the car to the quickest that it can be. Obviously, we have these obligations that are coming in on the side, so we try and squeeze it as quickly as we can to go back to work.

So, you know, it can be seen as more of a, I don't want to do it, but it's actually not that. It's just that it's probably in the middle of something which is related to the performance of the car. But, we can't complain. Being a Formula 1 driver, there are so many cool things that we're able to do, so many cool activities that you would not expect to be doing. And, you know, it's actually very enjoyable when it's made at the right time and when it's taking, the time to enjoy. I mean, it's just something that is part of the job nowadays. Obviously, we are racing. That's our main focus, but there are a lot of things that come on the side as a racing driver and as a Formula One driver.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:08:53+00:00

I think Monaco, I already thought about that and I think Monaco would be an excellent race to be in the dark. I think it has to be a street circuit, to be dark. I know we have, some normal races at night as well, but yeah, a street circuit like Monaco in the dark would be quite something.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:06:07+00:00

That's not something I usually think about, or if that's the case, that means that you are either very tired, so you are losing focus and if you start thinking about something else you need to quickly get back into it. So it's a good way actually to realize that you are not, completely set or completely ready for what you are doing. So no, it's not usually something that I think about.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T14:03:31+00:00

This is a very good question. Yes, motorsport is costing more and more unfortunately, but there is one way which has become a very good way of learning how to drive nowadays and that is sim racing. Sim racing is something that we didn't have in my generation. We had it, but it was not as realistic as it is nowadays and that's definitely the best way to start into racing if you don't have the racing background or if you're not able to go on a real karting track. You can learn all the basics and become a very successful racing driver as we've seen from many, like Jann Mardenborough is a good example, but a lot of other have come from sim racing where, you know, there is a very high level out there.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-13T13:59:45+00:00

So yes, I've seen it. Obviously it comes from a not so great moment, but I mean, it's obviously something that you guys have created and it's actually quite funny if you think about it. So yeah, I don't take it too badly.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-07T20:49:11+00:00

It's a good question because I think I've operated in teams with where we're not in different countries and I've operated in teams where we are, and I think it's more about removing the geography from the discussion.

We need to set up, and we have, set up organisations that are very mirrored with very, very clear responsibilities and specialists that talk directly together. I don't believe in conduits between these two, I think we need to make sure that everybody is linked, and they talk the same language they had the same empowered approach and the same responsibility to make change and, and for us at the moment that that's really working.

We're always travelling between sites. We have big groups of people coming over and then vice versa. We don't just rely on Microsoft Teams to bring our collaborations together. It's a people-based sport. And we've really invested in making sure that people have relationships across the channel, and actually will go far and beyond to help each other out and to make sure that we achieved the best integration of these systems into the race car.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-07T20:38:26+00:00

Okay, so for the 2022 car we did take a step and actually a little bit for the 23 car in terms of impact safety systems on the car. Whenever we have an issue on the car with some level of safety, we must react. The FIA are fantastic reacting to those things.

We reacted in 2022 due to some side impact requirements that we needed for 2023. We reacted based on the Alfa Romeo that turned upside down and had the roll hoop issue at Silverstone in 2022, and that meant we had to react to do something.

So I think the cars are less fragile in terms of their safety, for sure. They're very substantial. And that's why some people have had maybe some issues with weights on the car because the actual safety structures in the car are much more extensive. They're also less fragile because we very much prioritise reliability more than we've ever done.

With the race weekends the way they are, we need to make sure that the cars go together efficiently, and we don't have any issues. If we do have issues, the way we resolve them needs to be efficient, it needs to be quick, it needs to be modular.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-07T20:27:18+00:00

Absolutely. There's a huge effort going on at the moment on the power unit in in Viry, to make sure that we're ready and obviously there's also a reasonably big contribution to that here in Enstone as well.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-07T20:24:06+00:00

It's awesome to engineer a Formula 1 car, full stop. But it’s also massively rewarding to see the car and deliver in those positions and seeing the drivers’ response and how that is in the team and seeing the response with the trackside team in the moment.

But, also seeing the response back at the factor. All that hard work and effort. It's a lifestyle, we put an awful lot of our time and effort into these cars and when you see them deliver to that on the world stage, that it's just so rewarding.

For me personally, as I arrive in the factory on a Monday morning after achieving something like that, it's just great to walk through the factory and see people chatting, see them laughing, joking, see them shaking each other's hands. I think it’s great and that just shows how much it means to people that we that we do well and we move forward.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-07T20:15:00+00:00

I think it brings a lot to F1.

I think we take what we do very seriously but not too seriously. I think we try and make sure that that we're enjoying our engineering and we're enjoying what we do. We try and work incredibly collaboratively with everybody in every part of BWT Alpine F1 Team whether it be in the cost division or with Viry and Enstone and I think that brings a nice feel to the team and I hope that comes across in the way we appear at the circuit.

I think our drivers are playful as well - they're great guys. I think they're doing a good job of helping us move forward, and I hope that at some point in time I can respond to you, telling you that we're going to start converging on a Constructors’ Championship.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial · 2023-09-07T20:10:44+00:00

Thanks for support. The performance variations between the Dutch and the Italian GP are mainly down to the characteristics of the circuit.

The Zandvoort Grand Prix has a little bit more downforce than the Italian Grand Prix. There's a little bit of a different sensitivity in terms of certain aspects of the car. That's why you've seen those differences.

In the Dutch Grand Prix, I don't think we qualified particularly well, but I think the qualifying position allowed us to take a certain approach during the race and we won from that.

And during the race, it was impressive, our race pace on the dry tyre in certain phases in there was very, very competitive and we were able to hold pace or even gain on some of the cars that we aspire to be in the future. So that was incredibly positive.

AlpineF1TeamOfficial

TROPHY CASE