Esteban José Jean-Pierre Ocon-Khelfane was born on 17 September 1996 in Évreux, Normandy to Sabrina Khelfane and Laurent Ocon. His paternal family is originally from Málaga, Spain, and his mother has roots in Algeria. While competing in karting, his parents sold their family home to fund his career, living and travelling to races in a caravan. As of 2022, Ocon lives in Geneva, Switzerland. Besides his native French, Ocon also speaks English, Spanish and Italian.
Ocon entered karting in 2006, winning the French Championship in 2007 and the Cadet class in 2008 ahead of Anthoine Hubert and Pierre Gasly. He won the French KF3 title in 2010 and finished as runner-up in the WSK Euro Series in 2011 behind Max Verstappen. At 14, Ocon was signed by Gravity Sports management.
In 2012, Ocon made his debut in single-seaters, taking part in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 with Koiranen Motorsport. He finished fourteenth with four point-scoring finishes, including a podium at Circuit Paul Ricard. He remained in the series for 2013, switching to the ART Junior Team, recording one pole position and winning two races, finishing third behind Pierre Gasly and Oliver Rowland.
Ocon made his debut in Formula Three machinery at the 2013 Macau Grand Prix with Prema Powerteam. He continued with Prema into the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, topping the standings at Silverstone Circuit and remaining in the lead. Ocon was crowned champion with three races remaining, ahead of Tom Blomqvist and Max Verstappen. He finished on the podium in twenty-one of thirty-three races, winning nine, and recorded fifteen pole positions.
Ocon moved to the GP3 Series for 2015 with ART Grand Prix. Despite only scoring one race victory, he won the championship by eight points ahead of Luca Ghiotto. Ocon recorded three pole positions and fourteen podium finishes from eighteen races. He also drove for Mercedes-Benz in the first ten races of the 2016 DTM season, scoring two points.
Ocon's first experience of a Formula One car was on 22 October 2014, driving the Lotus E20 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. He made his Grand Prix weekend debut for Lotus during the first practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. In May 2015, Ocon was called up by Force India to drive at the post-race test in Barcelona. Prior to claiming the GP3 title, it was announced that Ocon would enter the Mercedes Junior Team. In February 2016, Ocon was announced as reserve driver for the Renault Sport F1 team for the 2016 season.
On 10 August 2016, Rio Haryanto was dropped from Manor Racing. Ocon was named as his replacement for the second half of the season, driving alongside Pascal Wehrlein. Ocon made his Formula One debut at the Belgian Grand Prix, finishing sixteenth. He earned his best result of twelfth in the rain-affected Brazilian Grand Prix, placing him 23rd in the Drivers' Championship.
On 10 November 2016, Force India announced they had signed Ocon for the 2017 season, partnering Sergio Pérez. Ocon scored his first Formula One point in his first race for Force India at the Australian Grand Prix, and scored points at the next four races including fifth place at the Spanish Grand Prix. Ocon recorded twelve consecutive points finishes but was often involved in incidents with teammate Pérez. They collided at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and again at the Belgian Grand Prix. Ocon finished his first full season in Formula One eighth in the drivers' championship, scoring 87 points.
Ocon continued alongside Pérez at Force India in 2018. His first points came with a tenth-place finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix. After Force India's financial collapse and purchase by Lawrence Stroll, the new owners confirmed Ocon and Pérez would remain. At Racing Point Force India's first race, the Belgian Grand Prix, Ocon achieved a third-place start and finished sixth. Ocon and Pérez collided on the first lap of the Singapore Grand Prix. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ocon collided with race leader Max Verstappen whilst attempting to un-lap himself. Ocon finished the season twelfth in the drivers' championship, scoring 49 points.
For the 2019 season, Ocon was replaced at Racing Point by Lance Stroll. Ocon joined Mercedes as their reserve driver for 2019 to drive their Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+. Ocon did not take part in a Grand Prix weekend during the year.
Ocon joined Renault for 2020, signing a two-year contract and marking his return to Formula One as a full-time driver, partnering Daniel Ricciardo. Ocon qualified fourteenth on his Renault debut at the Austrian Grand Prix and finished eighth. His best race finish since 2017 came at the Belgian Grand Prix, where he finished fifth. Ocon claimed his first Formula One podium by finishing second at the Sakhir Grand Prix, Renault's best race result since 2010. He ended the season twelfth in the drivers' championship, scoring 62 points.
Renault rebranded as Alpine F1 Team for the 2021 season, signing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to partner Ocon. Ocon was classified ninth at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, earning Alpine their first points. Prior to the French Grand Prix, Ocon signed a contract extension with Alpine running to the end of 2024. Ocon started eighth at the Hungarian Grand Prix and held on to the lead to take his and Alpine's maiden Formula One victory. Ocon ended the season eleventh in the drivers' championship, scoring 74 points.
Alpine retained Ocon and Alonso for the 2022 season. Ocon finished seventh at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. A crash in practice for the Miami Grand Prix forced him to miss qualifying. Ocon finished ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix but was demoted to twelfth by a penalty. Ocon's best result of the season came at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he held off Lewis Hamilton to finish fourth. Ocon ended the season eighth in the drivers' championship, equalling his best result, scoring 92 points.
For 2023, Ocon gained a new teammate in Pierre Gasly. At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Ocon received multiple penalties and eventually retired. Running in tenth place at the final restart of the Australian Grand Prix, Ocon was involved in a heavy collision with teammate Gasly. Ocon started third at the Monaco Grand Prix, earning him his third career podium and the Driver Of The Day award. His five penalties for the Austrian Grand Prix gave him the record for the most driving penalties in a single race. Ocon finished the Qatar Grand Prix in seventh despite hot weather. He ended the season twelfth in the World Drivers' Championship with 58 points.
Ocon continued alongside Gasly at Alpine for 2024. Ocon claimed the team's first points of 2024 at the Miami Grand Prix. He retired from the Monaco Grand Prix after colliding with Gasly, for which he apologised. A week later, Alpine announced Ocon would leave the team at the end of the season. Alpine picked up a double podium at the rain-affected Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with Ocon finishing second. Ocon was replaced by Jack Doohan for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Ocon joined Haas on a multi-year deal from 2025 onwards, partnering rookie Oliver Bearman. He finished fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix following disqualifications for both Ferrari drivers, achieving his first points finish in the VF-25. After crashing out of qualifying in Bahrain, Ocon climbed to eighth on an alternate strategy.
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