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Merci à Esteban Ocon d’être venu nous voir chez LEGEND ! Plus jeune pilote français de l’histoire à avoir participé à une course de F1, il nous a raconté les coulisses de son sport, les rivalités entre pilotes et tous les sacrifices faits pour faire partie de la liste des 20 pilotes de F1 dans le monde. On a aussi parlé de son enfance dédiée au sport et des sacrifices de ses parents pour l’accompagner dans sa passion, jusqu’à vivre en caravane.
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Our guest today is Esteban Ocon, the Formula 1 driver I still believe the best school is karting. I started when I was four and a half There could have been dramatic consequences for my family, for taking so many risks Even the school principal at the time “It’s like tennis, one backhand and it’s all over.” He told me that. “Mr. Principal, thank you for crushing my dreams. But I made it” You were up against Verstappen but he went to F1, while you were ranked higher in karting. He’s third in the F1 standings right now. It was very hard for me to accept that I had won the championship, yet wasn’t going to F1, that I still had to prove myself. He really had a driving style that was very aggressive, but still within the limits. I once took 42g For people who want to see that crash, I hit a concrete wall. I smashed both knees, I could hardly walk afterwards. I was even urinating blood. I collapsed in the shower. McLaren, that’s the fastest car. Red Bull, they’re in the top three. We can’t compete at the moment, for example with an Haas or with an Alpine. But it’s tough, because for me, what I want is to win. You want to be world champion? You want to be number one? Yes, that’s all I think about. Hello everyone and welcome to LEGEND! Our guest is Esteban Ocon, the French Formula 1 driver who will share with us his journey, his career, how he manage to succeed in this environment when most people are from privileged families, how he was able to start karting at the age of four and a half with the total sacrifice of his parents who sold their garage, their car garage with their house next door to buy a caravan. From the age of four and a half, he began to tell us about his journey, his success, how he was chosen when he was chosen. The successes, the failures, the periods of uncertainty too. When he doesn’t manage to win Grands Prix until the moment when he manages to win and change teams, he will tell us his whole journey. With the rivalry that there was also, especially on the series that was on Netflix. Anyway, just before we start, I’m going to thank our sponsor, Winamax, the online sports betting and online poker site. By the way, if you’re over 18, you can bet on different sports like the NBA for basketball, the Top 14 for tennis, even the Champions League for football and also on Formula One. You can bet on several things with Formula One, for example, the winning driver, the winning team, or many other things. You have to be of legal age to play. And once you’ve created your account, you can also play online poker. You can play with play money first before really starting with real money to play against online players. When you register, you can make a first deposit of up to 100 and with the code that appears LEGEND 10 it’s to get an extra €10 on top. If you lose your first bet, WINAMAX refund you up to 100€. So gambling is strictly prohibited for minors, does not allow you to get rich, and is not an alternative to work. In any case, here we go with Esteban Ocon, the Formula One driver on LEGEND . Here we go! Hi everyone! Esteban Ocon, we’re on LEGEND, we’re going to talk to you a little bit about F1, but not only that. Here we go! Well, I’m going to take back the clapperboard from you. Welcome to you and happy to have you. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me Guillaume. It’s been a while. We crossed paths a few years ago. You came to visit the offices at the time, I was on radio, so it was a very, very long time ago I’m also very excited by your progress.
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and to see everything that’s been going on. It’s nice! Thank you very much! I’m super happy to be here and super happy for you too. It’s amazing ! Look at the beautiful studio we are lucky to meet great people. Some Incredible journeys, One of a kind Journeys and it’s really, really great! Thank you very much! Very nice jacket Estaban. If you listen the podcast audio. Very nice leather jacket that you had. Thank you, you look very good, it’s nice to see – I was telling you when I arrive downstairs. How are you doing at the moment? Well, it’s going well. Listen, we’re in the middle of the season now, so we’re between two Grands Prix. But everything’s going well. I’m in a great team that’s caring. We’re managing to really push with good values ​​all together. So there you go, I’m very happy with where I am. and we need to have a car that’s a little more powerful of course, to perform a little better still. We had Fabio we talked about Moto GP. The goal of the show is to retrace the guest’s journey with his choices. You know why he made your choices, his mistakes, his failures, his successes at the right time. You have a unusual journey . don’t have a huge knowledge of F1, but so we’re going to try to speak for everyone, even those who don’t know anything about it, you see. You come from a family where they put you in a karting very, very early on and your parents made a huge sacrifice. It’s interesting to understand, we don’t realize it, we’ll explain. But they made a lot of sacrifices so that you could be able to go karting. It’s a sport that’s extremely expensive Of course which isn’t within everyone’s reach. And your parents didn’t have a lot of money and allowed you to do it. They really put everything into it. A bit like some people compare Mbappé I saw on the internet, reading the facts a bit, that there was a Mbappe Project Mbappé, it was a bit like that for you We’ll come back to it if you agree. There’s a documentary series on Netflix, Formula One. We see you inside with all the drivers and you’ll tell us from the inside how it was to understand a bit how it is You are only 20 drivers in the world, those who don’t know much about F1? There are only 20 drivers in all, there are three French and a Monegasque. Places are limited ! is it really a huge competition ? It’s really very hard to have your place in F1. It’s very hard to have your place in F1. You have to be, you have to, you have to have everything at the right time. In fact, the right people with whom you were able to work, you have to have won the right championships at the right time. But you don’t just have to be good you have to, You have to have everything. Now, it’s not just about arriving. And Having your skilling talent and getting in the car, no. It’s clear that there are only 20 drivers, there are hundreds who might have the talent to get in but who haven’t had the chance. So I also consider myself one of the lucky ones to be able to do this job, to be able to make a living from it too. It’s been my dream since I was little and now I’m here. So that’s why you tell me I look good. It’s because I feel good, yes. And you know how hard it is to get there. You worked for a karting company four years ago, we’re going to start your life again after that. But at twelve, your parents sold their house and left their jobs for your career. It’s incredible. You lived in a caravan for several years. Not everyone has experienced that. The youngest French driver in history, having participated in an F1 race, I see you were turning 19 or so. Is that right? Yes. In 2020, when you beat Lewis Hamilton, you won your first Grand Prix in Hungary. But to get back to the point, How does four years start? Your parents? I think your dad had a garage, is that right? Is that right? Did your mom work with him? Yes, exactly. Both of them. So they were self-employed, quite simply. So my dad was. A car dealer but not just a dealer. Not just a dealer who buys and sells. he was a mechanic. So there you go, when there’s a car that needs repairing, well, he did it too, servicing people, all that. But it even goes back before that. That is to say, he was the one who built our house with the workshop actually downstairs and above. We actually lived there while he worked below. So my mom worked with him precisely to manage all the logistics, the paperwork, etc. But of course, there’s a passion in fact, which was born from there, That is to say when I left for school in the morning, I saw a car that was all dismantled, I came back in the evening, the car had come to life and that, for me, was crazy. It’s. It’s that the object had come to life with sweat, with of course my father’s motivation to have repaired this car. And that gave me the desire to understand engines a little bit , to get in right away, to hear the roar, the smell of the tires, the smell of the engines. And I’ve always liked it since. Since I was very young. If you don’t start karting very young, frankly, we have the impression that if you don’t start karting very young, you can’t reach a very high level. There are sports a bit like that, with a few exceptions, where we had Cyril Gane who started, I think, at 24 years old. Combat sports Late compared to others. And to become a champion, can you start karting late and succeed? And by starting late? There are still few guys who start in it. There are some who start later. In fact, there are more and more drivers who never arrive in F1 early who don’t necessarily start in karting from the beginning, who start in single-seaters or do SIM Racing and then start in car categories and become professionals, it can happen more and more. There are better tools now to prepare. I think the best school is still karting. For my part, of course, I started when I was four and a half, very young. on a very small track , and I still remember it like it was yesterday. In fact, we were on A paintball, jetski, karting complex. And. Multi-sport stuff. Yeah, that’s it, with friends. And then I see this little baby kart and I get in it. In fact, the guy let me do a lap for fifteen minutes afterward . It was impossible for me to stop. You went around them like idiots. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to stop. And then, of course, I wanted to continue. I did want to be able to do more, you know. When you’ve had a taste of it. But like a kid who loves a toy. Is that it? Exactly. And then I was lucky enough to have this little, this little kart like a lawnmower that my. Dad had found for me second-hand somewhere. He put it back together for me and then I used to ride it on the lawn in front of my house and it started. Clearly at 4 years old I have a four-and-a-half-year-old son, so I can see more or less what that feels like. He’s a baby, baby, though. Still, he’s a big baby. I think. I still had the wheels to ride a bike on the sides. But I was doing. I was already doing karting and motorbikes, I knew how to ride a little bit. It’s normally limited to four or five kilometers max. It’s little things for kids. Yes, yes, of course. But it’s not that fast. Well, a small kart back then, like that, it went up to at least 45 50 already. Then that, you know, I don’t know if I was doing a 45 50. It’s tough, it’s tough, but. But yeah. In fact, it shapes you because it’s a memory. I was very young but I still remember it so it marked me for life and that. It shaped me now and I still have the same passion that I had since I was little. And you ride karts in the grass. That’s how you’re going to learn how to drive at the very beginning ? Yeah, that’s how it is. It started in the yard, in front of my house. We can say it a little bit about the road too, which wasn’t necessarily good to reproduce. Everyone did it in their own street. Yeah, that’s what’s very, very, very bad. All the parents let their children drive. Really, it’s in a field or on a small very closed road. There you go. Yeah, but my father, in fact, where he was very clear-headed and said to himself, well it’s no longer possible, I see, this is what he’s doing, etc. We’re going to try to structure all that. And in fact, we arrived in a system where there wasn’t necessarily any competition for young people, so it was demonstrations. In fact, at the very beginning, in 2003, it didn’t really exist. Competitions for young people. And so we did that for a year in supermarket parking lots. We did demonstrations or small races, but there weren’t really any categories. And then we arrived later, when there were really regional championships and the Coupe de France. And there, that’s where I met Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, all those drivers. He was already that good. I still remember it, even Pierre. In 2005, for example, it’s my second year of competition. We are both with Charles first and second at Magny-Cours. We touch And It’s Antoine Hubert who wins the race because he was third behind us at. So we were all there at the time, even in pairs. Drivers are a microcosm, there are very few of them in the end, right? Well, at some levels. There are some, there are many. Afterwards we were already in those front positions, so we always rubbed shoulders, we climbed the ladder together. There are some who started karting that we saw but who left, that we stopped. I’ve seen a lot of very talented drivers, but there are very few who make it to the bottom, to the top in fact. And it’s sad because there were some who clearly had the potential to do great things. We see in photos, in images, to your parents in a year, in a year, in a toy, are you your parents? Was there already this objective there or did it happen naturally. They saw that you do karting or was it a dream of your father to do F1? And they had said since they were little hey, I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have enough money, I’m going to give everything for my son. So not at all, not at all. My father never pushed me, my mother never pushed me for that either. I was the one who was always asking. And it’s a discussion I had with them again not long ago, when I was younger. I don’t remember everything. You asked to ride all the time in fact, all you thought about was coming home from the Emile Kart school or playing PlayStation, or playing Gran Turismo. You did that well on the console. In fact, that’s it. That’s what I wanted, that ‘s what I wanted. I wanted to compete ,I wanted to ride I wanted to feel free in fact, in that seat and feel good with the machine. That’s what I really liked. And my father in fact, I even had a conversation with him that really moved me. Not long ago. And he had come to a professional future in cycling, he rode road bikes, he was a French cycling school champion. And He didn’t manage to go where he wanted to go He didn’t have the right entourage, the right coaches, the right equipment. And in fact when he was 16-17 years old, he sat down on his bed and said to himself if one day I have a son and he wants to play sports, well I’ll do everything, I’ll put everything in place, even if I have to completely sacrifice my life for him to succeed. Because it clearly hurt him not to be able to live his dream. In fact, he wasn’t lucky enough to have someone who pushed him as much as he did, who managed to take me in the best conditions, so that moved me a lot. You have discussions with your parents to understand who was little, even how they met. You know, there are times when you start asking your parents questions to really understand. Yes, yes, in fact my father, we talk a lot to friends who return and I don’t want to hear too much. It’s true that we’ve always been very, very close with my family and it’s thanks to them that I’m where I am. They’ve always given everything. And even more. They did the work of about fifteen people when there were only two of them. But yes, they told me it was worth it, it was worth it. That. I was doing what was necessary. I had the talent. They saw something. Of course, it was a risk, it could have been for nothing. Yeah. It could have been a one-way ticket, quite simply. It could have had dramatic consequences for my family to have taken so many risks. But they wanted to take it because they thought it was worth it and that I would have a better life than the one he had. That’s it. Those were my father’s words. So… What’s the best advice he gave you? And is it super important in your life? Yes, of course. You gave advice once. The best advice he gave me was that the most important years of your life are now. And that was to mix it up from when I was 10 to when I was 18. He told me after that it’s too late. He was right because that’s when you build yourself as a person, when you Grow up until you’re 18 and you forge your path, you choose. You’re on the right road, actually. After that and It’s a nice play on words, but it’s the truth. In these you, you’re going to do your first races. First victory in 2004. That’s when you’re going to start to see that you’re good, that you’re a bit yourself. You know, you’re strong. When you see, you’re driving, that you’re made for this, your parents will see it, right? How’s it going? Yeah, so it was the first year of real competition. It didn’t exist before. As I said earlier, it was demonstrations before, so we did the regional championship of Ile de France. Not Normandy. Why not Normandy You’re from Normandy. Of course. Me, I’m and I’m from Evreux originally, because there were fewer drivers and my father thought that as a result there was a lower level. In fact, there was, it was a lower level. So he wanted me to prepare as well as possible. So we started like that in these regional championships, I was champion of Ile de France. I think I won almost all the races in this regional championship and then we all joined up in this Coupe de France. Afterwards the best from the North with the best from the south, we were all together. Then there are photos of you and your father, we see you pushing the car, he was the one who tinkered with it. Karting at the time, it’s photos in the image. If you also watch the video, but he was the one who tinkered, he was the mechanic. There, it’s more tinkering at that level. At that level, it was It was precision in fact. Really, my father, I’m not saying because he’s my father, I’m saying it because I’ve met a lot of mechanics and I work with the best mechanics. Now, even in Formula One, he’s someone who could integrate Formula One without problem. Really? Yes, it could be someone who, in two weeks, would know exactly what to do in F1 and we wouldn’t have any problems. He has that talent, in fact. Really, he simply has golden hands. And I’ve never had a reliability problem on the kart, for example. And even back then, in fact, he created safety features on the kart so as not to lose certain parts. For example, in karts, at the time, everyone took the kerbs and curbs that are on the inside. To use them. To cut the track. But everyone was losing the bitch because when you missed, the chain jumps. And he was the first one who made a double crown on the sides so that the chain wouldn’t jump and it would always be. Guided, it can’t derail, what? Exactly? You can’t derail. And these are things that karting teams have now taken over and are selling. If we had known at the time. Maybe my father would have filed the patent, but that wasn’t important to him. What he wanted was for me to not lose the chain and. Yes, he always had ideas like that. He clearly stood out on everything that was mechanical That’s crazy. There were parts in the trash he got to equip your kart, which in fact, he was really a handyman, but a high-flying one in fact. In fact, what he said was that it doesn’t matter if we’re not the fastest in training, so the tires etc. We’d salvage them from the trash. Or there were some who had brand new sprockets with chains that were still in very good condition. We’d salvage them and put them on the kart during training. Once we got to the competition, we all had, so to speak, the same equipment because we all had the same sets of tires that were bought before the weekend. So I always had worn tires in practice, so I was never the fastest. And once we got to qualifying, we’d put the tires we needed to save, what? In the right place. In the right place, at the right time? Exactly. And also work through the difficulty. No need to work with the fastest equipment Try to work harder, gain time when it’s more complicated than with more difficult equipment in training. And then when we got to the race, it was. Good because we have children with whom we can use it. If one day I coach him, I’ll take him, etc. When you watch Laure Manaudou’s recordings at the time, there were coaches who were very tough. Will Smith, who play very well in it. The Williams coach. There’s finally the father and the coach. Both, that’s the principle. He played a little very tough, very very weak because you can’t be soft if you want to be number one in a sport. Was it hard or was he still nice you didn’t let yourself get down? Or even when you were exhausted the next day? Is that it? Or was he still gentle? You know how. Was it the right compromise? He was. Yeah, it was still tough because we went there, we couldn’t in fact, it happened in a race and losing it, it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t an option. We had to win, we had to be noticed so that there would be people who would finance it after my career. Because it was going to end quickly. In fact, what we achieved up to the national level. But after that, it was going to end right away. So he takes responsibility. Preserve in certain moments, for example, I weighed 25 or 30 kilos, but I had to lift the kart to put it on the trolley that we saw earlier. For example, when I’m in the kart and he pushes it, it’s not because, well, he’s just, he pushes the kart, the other drivers were pushing it with them. But it’s because he wanted to save me before the race so that I would have more energy during the race and that I would damage my back. So he had. Well, he made a different trolley with jacks and then he even had an electric one that he made with a different remote control to be able to lift the kart. In fact, automatically, while all the drivers were there lifting the kart, hurting their backs. And He always thought ahead and didn’t tire himself out for nothing. In fact, there had to be something. If there was something hard, it had to be useful for something. You lived your whole youth anyway. Have you ever lived without having a lot of money? It’s important because most F1 drivers come from families with a lot of money. It’s a sport. I didn’t really know, but it was Lewis Hamilton who said, « It’s a place where there are a lot of Billionaires Childs.” Well, I think he said that at the time. So you knew the fact of not having money at the beginning. That’s yes, so I never lied, I never lacked anything. You know Guillaume, even when we lived in the caravan, uh, there you go, I always had food, there was always food on the plate, we always had the right temperature, we weren’t too hot, not too cold. I always had my strawberry syrup when I wanted it. In the evening. Uh, there you go, there were no problems on that side. It’s true that I had a career that was more difficult than some pilots. But you know, no matter where you come from when you put on the helmet, the difficulty, we have it in any environment. If you’re very rich, you’ll always be judged very rich. It’s easy if he doesn’t have money, the poor guy. But there you go. And he still has to get there for the future. When you have the helmet, you’re all alone. In fact, there’s no one around, there’s no wealth, there’s no uh. Where are you from? What country are you from? We’re all fighting each other and talent has to prevail. But it’s sure that well, we were hungry because we didn’t have the choice. And that, I think that’s something that I found a lot in my career, is that I never let myself be pushed around. I always fought to get what I had, because I was born like that, because I was raised like that, that you had to fight, that you had to think at the right time to get there and that when you arrive at a race, you’re not there to participate, you know. You have to come back with the cup, no choice. At twelve, they go and sell in the garage and the parents’ house. So really, they’re going to say to themselves we’re going in Ohlins, is that really the case, what are they selling their sources of income for or what? Garage That’s crazy! That’s crazy it’s not just the house, it’s the house and the garage. They’re going to buy a caravan and they’re going to bet everything on you. They’re going to allow you to achieve, is that it? So they both agreed. It’s more your father who wanted it as quickly as possible, but. It was a big discussion. You should. You should ask them. But no, in the end they both agreed. I think my mother had a lot of difficulties at the beginning. To. To say yeah we’re going like that. We’re also going to have to follow a different school curriculum than normal, because there’s that since I’m at the CNED, I have to follow the CNED. Did your parents teach you? Yes, it’s my mother, she only managed to get a teacher from time to time who came to certain places where I was in English and math most of the time because she still wanted me to take most of the classes. But yeah, she did, she did the lessons for me at the same time. And when we were in Italy or Spain or England, well there was a time when there were no mailboxes next to the highway to send the lessons. That was back then and there was no internet, really no names like that. So how did they send them? What is it exactly? We sent the sheets by post and I was old when. I said that. Don’t worry, we’re the old one, We’re always someone’s old man. Afterwards, it’s a shame. I’m 28. But yes, it’s true, that’s what it’s like. It’s a time when the world is changing very quickly. Yeah. Clerval That’s clear. You’ll see. But so, it was a shock for my mother, yeah, to say to herself, well, we’re going to have to do everything 100%. That is to say, do we do 50% racing, 50% competition or do we do 100% competition and 0% lessons or the other way around? So we’re going. For my father, it was quickly seen because with the results we were getting, etc. And for me, obviously, what I wanted was to continue motorsport. I don’t encourage any young person to do what we did because racing is very important, you have to follow it at school, you never know what the future will bring. But there you go, plan B was to go back to school later if it hadn’t worked out. And you were in the caravan with your parents, you move around here, you don’t have any friends, really no school. No, of course you’re very lonely. You have your parents, but with people your own age, with whom you’re going to play, with whom you’re going to be at school after a year. You know, on Sunday evenings, actually, when I came home from shopping, well actually, I heard the school bell in the morning when the shopping rang at 8:30 or 9:00, well I slept in the school. There were echoes of TV at the school anyway. I went to school at the. Games. From my sixth grade to. Going. Half of the fourth grade and then we did the third grade with the CNED. But I was coming home from school, I was coming home from shopping on Sunday evening, in the morning, I woke up, I got out of the caravan, I was in front of the school. Damn, that was crazy. So, you slept in the school parking lot? Well, yeah, because we were coming home, it was easier. We didn’t necessarily have a place to park exactly. So we slept at my cousin’s . Most of the time, we put the caravan there, but since it was already very late, well we saved time by parking in front of the school and then, there you go, I went straight to class. So no, I didn’t have many friends, I had a lot of people who said to me, oh yeah, a gypsy, what are you doing here? And I have great respect for the traveling community. Besides, who sold us the caravan at the time? Oh, that’s right. Oh yeah. So he was pissing you off? Because yeah. That’s it, that’s it. Yeah, they were making fun of me. And then. It wasn’t easy, obviously. And besides, I still missed a lot of classes because on Fridays, we had to go to practice sessions, etc. And even the headmaster of the school at the time, he told me you have to stop doing that. Honestly. You’ll get nowhere. It’s a rich man’s sport, there’s no point in you doing that. It’s like tennis, one backhand and everything stops. He told me Well. Mr. Headmaster, thank you for ruining my dreams. But I succeeded. So there you go. There are more people who will say that it’s not possible than possible anyway in life, it’s. Sure, but it’s still sad when a ten or eleven-year-old child tells him that it was not possible to achieve his dream, it’s sad. You want children one day for sure. What does that mean? And he’s going to say because you have the means today it’s not the same as what your parents experienced, but will you let them do what they want and will you accompany them even if you don’t like it, so to speak, even if it’s a job because your father might not have been a fan of FORMULA 1 Yes, you could have chosen tennis. Anything. He might have accompanied you as much in tennis as in F1. Yes, that’s clear. Because he had this desire It wasn’t necessarily cars. But yes. I want children. Yes, that’s for sure. Is it that later, if my child says to me I want to go karting, will I take him? If he wants to? Of course. After having to start another life in motorsport, with everything I’ve experienced now, I’m not sure that’s what I want. But if he wants to. What did you say to your children? If he wanted to go into F1 in his head, don’t you realize how tiring it is? No, butYes. They want it, you have to put in the intensity, you have to have the motivation, you have to have the hunger I think they will have the best grandfather to show them. Today, you are 13th in the standings, you are 28 years old and you have a rivalry from back when you were a kid. And Pierre Gasly, you already hold your own back then, he was a real rival for you. It’s crazy. You have followed each other for so long since the beginning. You were friends back then wherever we are, we are like that when we are little. Are we friends? Do we just know each other from the circuit? How is it going? We were very close friends, maybe my best friends when we were both younger, we grew up together on all the karting tracks. But even outside. We were going on vacation to Charles’s. At the time, he and I were the three kids. We went to La Turbie where he lived at the time. We did a lot of things together. And then Pierre played soccer at the beginning. And. My father told him to stop soccer, get in the kart, try it and see. And Pierre immediately had talent, of course and so We competed together. And Pierre, he has great talent. Of course, we all know his talent. We climbed the ranks together for the most part, and then after that we lost touch a little more. But we both have great respect. We’ve both experienced things together that are still incredible. We were teammates at a major manufacturer for several years. We made that podium together in Brazil last year, which was still an incredible moment. Let’s not lie, I think we were both very moved. Because where we come from, there aren’t many people in Normandy who thought we were going to make it. We’re going for it. We both made it. I know it’s noted in a qualifying heat in the quarterfinals, you’re going to be taken to cut the track across the grass to catch Gasly, etc. I’m not sure. Was that when you were in karts when you were little? No. I’m not sure, but. But it’s sure that. I found that on the internet too for. Fighting, back then, we had some great ones. Yeah, it was definitely close a lot of times. And there were no cameras and no no stewards like we have now, track marshals like that who watched exactly the same things. And it’s a shame that it wasn’t televised as much because there were some great battles, that’s clear. And sometimes it crossed the line of what was supposed to happen. But that’s what it is, that’s what I like, I like, I like to fight with the rules. Now you have to go for it. That’s it, it’s war when you’re on the track, that’s simply it. And there are drivers who are more aggressive than me. Still. But. But that’s it, you have to earn your place at the end. And that’s always been how I’ve been. I was raised and pushed. You saw the film F1 with Brad Pitt in it, we see you, We know that in the summer we really filmed on the Grand Prix, is that it? I think that’s for sure. For two years. Of course, two in 2003 2004. And it’s a film with Brad Pitt that came out, which was also a hit by the way. We see you a lot in that. Sometimes we see a rivalry between the two, well between the drivers we imagine. Well actually, outside, when you don’t know F1 at all, you were Pierre Gasly in the same team, you were with Shelby. Yeah, that at the same time, is there rivalry that we had his colleague anyway in real life? Is that right? Sure, of course, there is rivalry, but in fact, that’s where it’s very complicated, in the end, that is to say that we are in the same team, we are teammates. But there you go. There’s a constructors’ championship, so for the team, you have to do the best for the team because that’s a lot of income. We have between 1,000 people, even more than 1,000 people, so we are the final product of all this work to be on track, to perform. There are a lot of people who count on us, but there is also our individual driver championship which counts enormously of course. So all that means it’s not. Well, it’s a team sport, of course, and without all the people we work with, we’re going nowhere. But there is also this individual ranking which is extremely important. So yes, the first driver you compare yourself with, who has the same car, is necessarily your teammate, that’s normal. But. But in the team, we have always gotten along well, there has always been a dialogue and what was very important in fact, that both sides communicate so that we can progress. And I think that with this team, what we managed to accomplish anyway, despite the difficulties we had with the car that wasn’t performing well, especially the last year to have this podium, I think that to conclude the story, how we conclude it, it was still beautiful. I don’t know how you were today, if you in an interview you said we respect each other on the track or there? Maybe today, after that it’s normal, it’s because it’s a story of friends too. There are times when maybe a month is much closer. Maybe you see him less now, you’ll see him more in two years. It’s the cycle of life too. Can we have real friends, not buddies? Friends? We have five in a lifetime, there are real friends, friends. Can we be friends? It’s like in politics, it’s very hard. That’s what the politicians said. I ask regularly, but it’s very difficult to have friends who are friends because at some point, you can find yourself face to face with them. Of course, afterward. I have one of my… Very good friends, one of my best friends, who is also a driver, whose name is Mitch Marat and who drove. We were Mickey’s son. Of course, he didn’t know. Of course, between the 100. One and him. He drove for two years in F1, so we were still rivals. But there you go, he’s one of my best friends, so we can, that’s for sure, but then when you close your visor, that’s it, that’s how it is , you have to, that’s sport, you have to do the best you can, you have to be in front of anyone. Everyone is your opponent, so you have to pay attention to your teammate because obviously, there’s the constructors’ championship which is very important for the team. But you have to perform, otherwise the place goes to someone else. You were talking about when you were young, you found yourself facing lots of people against Verstappen, even in karting at the time to help you. And I think you were. He was third in the standings, well third in the standings right now. Yes, it’s that stupidity. Yes. And in fact, I think you were above him in the karting standings at the time. There was a kind of THE moment when he moved to F1 while you were higher ranked in karting. After his talent, he no longer needs to be proven. He deserved everything that is, everything he had. He’s been an incredible driver since the beginning that we started in karting. In fact, it is. I think we all grew up together and he really had a way of driving that was very aggressive, always. Always within the limits of what was possible in the regulations and I think it’s by beating him all these years, we all learned a lot of things by his side in karting, he paraded before me the years 2011 where we do the World CS Karting championship which is called This championship is called like that. I finished second and then we found ourselves in Formula Three in 2014 where I won the championship and suddenly I’m not going to Formula One. He will As a result. So as I said, he deserves 100% everything that happens to him. And then I’m very happy for him that he also won his four titles. But it’s true that at that time, it was very hard for me to tell myself that I had won the championship, that I wasn’t going to F1, that I had to prove myself once again. I had difficulties with my management program which. was not funding more in fact my career at the time. So I was taken on and then I left for Mercedes and that’s why I had to do another year in 2015 and then I had my chance in F1 so I waited a year and a half longer than him. And It was hard to swallow, but deep down, I told myself that by working hard, it would pay off at some point and it did. And so you called the boss of Mercedes several times At the time, it was That was Toto Wolff Yes, it’s always the case that you’ll call and then call back, then after you’ll say to yourself at the beginning, okay, and you’re not going to let him go, you’ll say I really want to and he’ll realize that you really want to get there. In fact, there were key people in my career, I think it’s the first person. It was with Eric Boullier at the time, they were people who, for those who know the world of motorsport, was the boss of Lotus at the time. Knows. The citrus now, he’s the one who manages the junior program at Mercedes. At the time, we worked in a sector called Gravity Sport Management. And from 2010 2011, suddenly, my parents sacrificed everything, sold the caravan, etc. They were the ones who arrived and said Well , we’re going to help you, we’re going to finance the hold. Esteban And up to Formula One if they continue to perform. So they helped us, they gave my father a budget. We’re still the caravan , but we had more equipment. What’s the budget needed to do a karting season? At the time, you gave my father €100,000 to do a karting season when he was the one doing everything. So that included the budget for gas, tolls, food, everything else. There you go. To get around, a slightly better caravan. If because the caravan had burst tires, we had torn everything up, it was a pain with all the kilometers it had done. And then these people trusted me. But the problem is that this program stopped in 2014, when I won the Formula Three title. And then, yes, I call Toto every evening. I ask him if he doesn’t have a solution to find for me, and with me, no. We continue to discuss all that. And with Fred Vasseur, who is the boss of Ferrari, who was also the boss of Grand Prix at the time, he finds me a solution to drive in GP3, which is basically the Formula Three championship, but in the F1 Grand Prix , and I win that championship. And then things took on another dimension. Then, what’s the difference? I mean, I had a program that really supported me with substantial resources. It’s still the Mercedes brand. I won the championship, I won the two major championships. That’s promotion before F1. Of course, V2 was missing, but I still won two major championships, and so, the following year, I turned professional. In fact. How do you feel about moving to F1? So first, there was the transition to professional, not to the World Touring Car Championship. So I did half the season while waiting to move to F1 from there. And. I received my first salary, which was also something strong because with all the people who told us that we would never make it, I still received my first salary. Which means that it was smaller than today. It has nothing to do with it , of course, but it was already a lot of money. But what was it. My first salary? My first year in F1, it was let’s say for the DTM. And. Formula One, it was about 35 zero zero zero. So it was a lot of money for me at the time. Of course, things have changed a lot, evolved. But I had… I’d never touched anything until then. Throughout that time, all the expenses were hardships, etc. At that time, I had a company car, I had a salary to drive, I was in the professional teams, it was crazy. And then I moved to F1. So, halfway through the season, to replace another driver. So I stopped my DTM championship and I had my chance to go to F1 in 2016. But you took it by phone. I found out by phone. I was on vacation at the time, it was the break. And they called me. They told me: You have to stop your vacation, you have to go get a seat in England in the team because when it starts again, you have to be in F1. And then, something crazy. I still remember, I was on the phone. Afterwards we go to dinner the evening before leaving and I see my face on BFM TV. Yeah yeah, the same day. And crazy thing. Here we go. Your father? How do you let me know. Right away? Yeah, I call him. Yeah, yeah, of course, of course, I call him. I call my parents We’re gone, but we don’t even have time to realize it. And to say to ourselves that’s it, we’re here, We’re immediately in anticipation of everything there is to do and how we have to prepare. We mustn’t mess up because it’s the first race. We can do a good one, we can, we can to do a good race or do a terrible race. And luck goes very quickly. The image arrives very quickly, yes, That’s what people, they also have an opinion, that’s it. It’s like they say when they meet someone on the last impression, it’s done. And so the first thing. I think people look at you like that. It’s exactly right. I would have crashed in the first corner or something. It was very quickly the luck went away and. You can’t be too slow at the beginning either. But no, you tell yourself no because otherwise it wouldn’t have been as good. And then I had a half-year contract, so I start mid-season while the others have trained all year. But then, you also have to think about the future and I have to sign with another team or with the same team. It was going to continue. Oh really? It’s ancient history since that team, unfortunately, went bankrupt. And the salary is much bigger in F1. Are salaries public? Hmm, No, no. Not really. Nobody knows. I’m thinking about what I just said before. Oh really? One year the salary was 100. But there you go, it’s like winnings in football. So that people realize. Actually, it’s the same for him. I think it’s 15,000 when you have the first fight, ten or 15,000 and then it must be fifteen zero zero if you win. People immediately think you’re a millionaire. When you arrive in Formula One. No, you have to prove it, you have to. It was a lot of money as I already said for a young guy like me at 19, who already had his company car, etc. The flights to pay to go live his. Dream four corners of the world to the. Four corners of the world, it was a crazy thing. But you have to know that if it stopped for this half year, well, after that, what do I do? I’ve done this all my life. For That, for that. Yes, yes, I don’t have a seat anymore After professionally, it can stop. And after that it’s even worse because you’ve touched your dream. And if you can’t continue, it’s maybe even worse. Oh yes, it is. It’s horrible in fact. It’s something I’ve always told myself. You shouldn’t have regrets afterwards. You always have to do what you have to do when you have the chance, when you have the opportunity. Because later on, you’ll say to your children, Ah, if I had done that, maybe I would have succeeded. It’s horrible to have remorse like that. And I’ve known a lot of people in life who talk to me about their lives, their past experiences and. And it’s hard to hear. So yes, that’s something that’s not possible for me. August 1, 2021 You won your first Grand Prix in Budapest. What was that? I think it was against Lewis Hamilton. Yes, Lewis, he came from way back. And Verstappen. Max Yeah, but he had the damaged car, so he wasn’t going any faster than. Us that time. It was incredible. In fact, you should know that I won a race. I had three podiums. You said it earlier, I’m 13th in the championship. The end is when you finally arrive. In fact, the cars are very different from one team to another. We don’t all have the same equipment as we can have in the junior categories. So I’m not saying that I’ll arrive with the same car as Max, but I’ll beat him. He’s a very strong person. But we can’t compete now, for example, with a race car or an Alpine, or with a I don’t know. Any car. Compared to a McLaren. The McLaren is the fastest car. The Red Bull is in the top three. We can’t compete. We have to make do with the means we have. And what we have to do is score points. Every race, but small points between eight and ten. That’s what’s possible for now. So it’s hard as a driver to say to yourself we’re getting to a Grand Prix. And you really see it, the car on a straight line. On a straight line, on braking, on acceleration, it’s a lot. In fact, the engines are. We have the same engines as the Scuderia Ferrari for example, and the same gearbox, but everything else is done by our team with the means we have. So there you have it, we have a… A car that is less competitive than the Ferrari. Obviously, when we manage to get close to a Ferrari, it means that we did a very good job that weekend and it’s a kind of satisfaction for us, but for us a victory. For example, in China, when I finish fifth, for us, that’s a victory. It’s a. Yes, it’s very good compared to the power of the car. That’s it. We’re almost in contact with the Ferraris. We’re doing with it, yes, we did better than what the car could do. And that’s a satisfaction. But it’s hard because what I want is to win. I’m not here to participate, you know. What I want is to fight in front, to fight with those I’ve fought with in the past. And. And I will always fight until that happens. And I am finally going to one day have the opportunity to fight for victories and podiums. I saw that the guy had a Rafale, we saw it in a video. He was lucky enough to be able to fly in gusts. We imagine F1 acceleration, but when you start from zero at the very start, I crush you. What does that do? For example, are there Teslas? There are plenty of 1020 horsepower engines out there. We were talking about that earlier. Have you asked yourself that question? I find it interesting. To realize. It’s like on TV, when you see a dog Bolt running, you don’t realize it in real life, if you were running next to it, it’s the rocket. Yes, yes, and TV? Since there are only guys who go fast, you don’t really realize it. And it’s a bit the same for the elephant. Like all cars go fast. We don’t try to do everything for you. When we drive nice cars. I’m not talking about F1 on the road. Is it extremely different when starting off? What changes? So it’s very different, but it’s certain that there are certain cars now, as you said, the previous model, which are very efficient from 0 to 100 because they have four-wheel drive. And electric cars actually have a lot of torque, which means that the power is instantaneous, so it’s a shock. And these cars now are, let’s say, from 0 to 100, it depends on the conditions. For example, if it’s raining, a Tesla or 0 to 100 will go faster than a new one. Oh, that’s for sure, Yes, Incredible, of course, because in fact, we won’t put the power to the ground while the Tesla will have four-wheel drive, we don’t have the right tires for it, etc. Now, what makes the difference with a gasoline car is that 100 to 200 will go as fast as 0 to 100. So we have 1000 horsepower, but the car weighs, weighs 700 kilos. A Tesla weighs almost two tons. Yes, of course. So that helps on 0 to 100. But after that, there is much less performance. It continues further. In fact, accelerated and. After that, a road car will have to brake at the end of the straight. If it reaches 250 to 300 meters, we will brake at 60 meters. So it’s the. Braking too, the. Braking and the grip in the corners. In fact, that’s where a Formula One car is the fastest car on the dirt when it reaches top speed, but in the corners. And we see Nadal in tennis with OCD, he’ll make gestures that reassure him because we’re athletic. It’s necessary and even if we’re not athletic. But I think that. And we talk with a doctor, but 100% of people have OCD. Afterwards, it’s smaller, bigger, it’s just reassuring. Do you have reassuring things before getting into the car to get in or inside or before? Or do you have something that reassures you? Yes. For example, I always get in on the same side of the car, the right side. I feel better when I get in. That’s it. That’s also a thing. I don’t know if it’s superstition or if it’s a habit, but in any case, I never get in on the left side. That’s it, quite simply. So that’s one thing. Afterwards, I always my rhythm where I always put on roughly the same music when I warm up, etc. But that’s more to get me into it. I wouldn’t say it’s superstition, but it’s to get me into the rhythm, let’s say. I know that when I’ve done all that, well, I’m ready to go. We have a machine later to test reflexes. Yeah, I saw that you obviously trained a lot. We didn’t realize what the body of an F1 driver goes through. We looked, so it’s marked. You can tell me if it’s roughly true or not, but I looked on the internet to see what was marked. Afterwards, I think there are things not far from the truth. When braking and cornering, we could take up to five besieged. So what explains the need for cardio because it’s very long, a race between 1 and a half to 2 hours roughly, that’s the temperature in the cockpit, between 45 and 60 degrees. Yes. That’s it, you really do it all the time, It’s. That’s actually, that’s really what makes a race physical or much less physical. In fact, we have, as you said, 5 to 6 years, so there are a lot of tiring constraints on the physique, it’s 5 to 6 times the weight of your body when you reach that. So our head here weighs a little up to 40 kilos, let’s say, even if I haven’t really calculated, but that’s roughly the change in kilos. I’m making a face, yeah. So yeah. I know, I’m not talking nonsense. But. But the. Training loads, that’s it, it’s about 40 40 kilos on the back of the neck for sets of 30 45 seconds. And. Yes, it’s very hot in this car and that’s why we have a physical training that is special. It’s a bit like CrossFit , let’s say, because we have to be strong in this area in terms of muscles, that is to say we have to be powerful, but we also have to be endurance and heat resistant. So it doesn’t go together at all. That is to say that when we do training like that in the world, we ‘re going to get injured because we have to do a lot of cardio and a lot of strength training in fact, to absorb all the light impacts, etc. And I find myself cycling, for example in races in Singapore, 2 hours in a sauna at 50 55 degrees, well I do that three or four times a week after training sessions. So yeah, so it’s awful. Yes, you Lose. There are, you lose between 2 to 3 liters of water. That’s what’s on the Internet. Average heart rate during a Grand Prix 160 180, It depends. It depends on which Driver There are Driver who will be at 160, 180 or others who will be much lower and who will be much calmer with a perception. It depends on the physiology. And we see the same thing a little in MotoGP. There are parts that are very high and others much lower, but that doesn’t mean that one is much faster than the other. In fact, it’s really the perception and the adrenaline too. I think we can be at a standstill, for example, before the start at 150 beats because the assets that come into play, the concentration, the adrenaline, thinking about everything at the same time, all the procedures. So it’s difficult. But yes Finally as cardio, we need a very strong cardio. Braking weakens up to 150 kilos of pressure on the pedal up to 1000 times per race. Yes. I have constant tendinitis here in my Achilles heel. Yeah, it’s when you press the brake a lot It’s also something that’s very bad because the accelerator, which is on the right, is very soft compared to the brake, which is very hard. So we’re always off. The pelvis is always a little off, but after that it’s 150 kilos. But we’re helped by the 5 to 6 decelerations, so we don’t put the 150 kilos, we’ll put much less. And when it lasts an hour and a half. Do you ever think about something else while riding, like your dog? Are you saying to yourself it’s too hard and 1 hour and a half, we know how hard it is to concentrate. It happened to me. And in. In fact, the moment when that happens, it means there’s something wrong. It means we’re no longer focused, it means we’re lacking sugar on the way up, we’re dehydrated and it’s the same moment when we start to see a little blurry. And that happened to me in Qatar for example, in 2023, where there was 90% or 95% humidity. With 32 or 33 degrees, there was no air. A driver who fainted at the end of the race, a driver who retired during the race. And I vomited after fifteen laps. Then in that race because I felt bad or something, I couldn’t breathe in the helmet. It’s really a pleasure for those who are having dinner. Sorry, but it’s true that it’s horrible. It’s horrible. In the balaclava, all disgusting. But then you finish the race. Yeah, actually I had to. I said to myself, okay, now you have to calm down. I calmed down, I took a deep breath on the straight, so the little time I was able to breathe because after the whole lap you’re practically holding your breath Plus, afterward you’re in the smell of the thing. Yes, yes, that’s it. And I… Even found myself at one point where I was behind a Mercedes. I remember, I was stuck behind Russel, there are all the stones, the projections, etc. But just like that, without thinking, because I was completely disoriented, I opened the visor to breathe. What? But I’m opening the visor for you while he’s right in front. We’re at 300 kilometers per hour, he’s throwing all the stones at me , always breaking them up into small stones. Then I feel it, I say to myself , but what am I doing? Hop, I close the visor, but I felt bad. It was true, it was a race that was very, very tough, very, very tough. So I took all the F1 rumors that we find on the internet. And you’re going to tell me if it’s true or not. It says drivers, so we don’t really say it anymore, it’s the car and the team that do everything. I stopped this F1 rule a bit. You know what they say in the forums about things like that? Can you tell if it’s actually true or not? No, it’s all false. It’s all false because, in fact, all the electronics on the steering wheel, all the engineers behind it, etc. We have no steering assistance, so we don’t have anti-lock brakes for example, it’s ABS in automotive terms, the basics, we don’t have the track, a control, so the wheels spin. Oh yes. We have power steering but no one. Not even a bodybuilder, even Aurélien Strong Man. I don’t know if that’s him. I also knew at the time, someone who is very strong. Who trains at the Evreux gym. Besides, I see him often with me. Even he couldn’t turn the steering wheel, he could turn it once, but not for ten laps if there was no power steering. Because the tires are super heavy. Because there’s two tons of load on the car. So when you push the car to that point, it becomes very hard to turn the wheels. So we have power steering, yes, but it’s still very hard. And everything we do on the steering wheel is something we have to manage with the engineers beforehand, but we’re the ones who asked the engineers to do it. That is to say, these are not things that happen automatically, we have to do them, we have to make the changes. Everything we’re told on the radio, we have to do at 300 kilometers per hour between two corners. So there is. There, there’s no help at all, it’s really us who drive the cars. F1 is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Is that real or… There are debates without answers. These debates on F1 forums, I found you would ask, I. Would know, I wouldn’t really know how to answer. Yes, motorsport is dangerous in general, but there’s so much research in fact, to improve the safety of all drivers from karting to Formula One, there are really competent people and these are things that are also transmitted in the automotive world. I think it’s a very dangerous sport , but we’re very well supported in that respect. Touch wood. Right? Yeah, if there are… Are there also political decisions to make people win, a bit like in the movie F1 and Brad Pitt where sometimes they tell you to let your teammate pass , you have to, you have to do this. Does that happen? It happens. For various reasons, we are Still paid and employed by a team. It depends on which team. But for us, it’s 400 people. When I worked with Alpina, it was still 1000 people. So we work for a lot of people and when there is a team decision, we have to respect it because the team is counting on us. But me. I have always respected team decisions because they made sense, because we had chosen a strategy before between the two riders and we had to do that at that moment. Now Rossi, if you are fighting for the championship, that’s for sure and it’s the last race and you are first with your teammate second but the team asks you to let him pass for them, there are championships, right? That will be a discussion you will have after with the team. Go turn off the radio. Is that what Brad Pitt does? But these are American films, so you never know if it’s good and then it’s all extrapolated. But did you turn off the radio? Did you have an idea in mind and you didn’t listen? Like in a profession where sometimes there are superior blows? So from memory, no, I took the radio off because I wanted to hear more of what was being said to me and then there were only ten laps left and the engineer was talking too much. But there wasn’t anything very hard until the end. So of course it wasn’t good, but I did it quite a few times at the beginning of my career. Anyway, you have to know where you’re going, you know. You know, you’re the one in the car. Once the stop is made and nothing more happens. Of course, there could have been an Icarus or something like that, it would have been catastrophic if I hadn’t had the radio and I realized later. But But yes. With the experience I have now, I’m able to more or less know how to read the race and what should happen. Did you know Jules Bianchi? Yes, I have many who passed away. I noted October 5, 2014. So it was at the Japanese Grand Prix where there was an error with a tow truck that shouldn’t have been there. I know his father well and also his parents who organize a marathon every year. If you have the opportunity to go to Le Castellet, you can look at the marathon date. I have a little thought for them and we send them a big hug. Do you think about it sometimes? When I think about it, I think about it. Jules It was always In fact, I went to drive at Brignoles. There was always Charles, there was always Jules, his father Philippe, to manage the Brignoles karting track. He was a Ferrari driver at the time, of course, of course. And Jules was the example. For us, he was the driver who was going to drive for Ferrari who was going to be champion. Who was our example. He was the French driver. At the time. Top, always with the talent he had. And yes, what happened is that it’s awful and. And we think of him and we think of his family. Sport, safety, is very complicated. You think about safety in your car, saying there’s still a risk. Do you talk to your parents? Do you have a ritual? Every time, we got in for that because there’s still a risk behind every time. In fact, we don’t think about it when we get in the car. I think the moment we think about it is the. Moment we have to hang up. Ah It’s definitely a dangerous sport. I lost people I knew very well, drivers I grew up with. Uh, it’s clear how Tony Blair, we always think of him and his family of course. And. And yes, it’s hard, that’s for sure, these are things we think that no longer exist because the sport has evolved so much. The cars are very safe these days, but it can happen. And. But we can’t tell ourselves that in the car, we have to let go at that moment because it’s too dangerous or I can’t make contact here because maybe something could happen. A big crash. I’m always thinking. Is it worth taking the risk? Always that, It’s something I’ve always told myself. If there’s nothing to go for at the end, I won’t take the risk, it’s pointless. That is to say that if we’re fighting for third place, No, I’m not going to take all the risks to go and win this position because for me, there are no points to go for at the end, there isn’t much. Now, if it’s a podium or a victory, well yes, all the risks, I’m going to take them. We switch off the brain, we put it aside, there’s no choice, it’s mine, it’s part of the game. We are, we are racing drivers, we are. There are some people who say modern-day gladiators. I don’t really know if that’s the case, but in any case, you have to, you have to go for it and that’s how it is. Yes, that’s how we have to drive. There are some who have children, F1 drivers, I don’t even know. Yes, yes, yes, of course. Of course, there are quite a few drivers when you’re Max. You’ve had a child, there isn’t. Does that change anything in your driving or not? No, no. At the time, they said it was 3/10 slower on a tour. To have a child. But the proof is that it’s not true. But the military, they do that a lot. The limits are something else again. There are other risks. There are lots of them leaving their service. We had people, special forces, we have service here and at one point, they have children, they wait. What am I doing in a country? With great respect to those who protect us, who protect what exactly? And I know that children, they really hold me tight. That’s why everyone knows nothing. No, no, no. After that, I did it, I don’t have children yet, I want some later. But. It’s sure that it’s sure that yes, that, that would make you think I think. Are there already affairs, hassles ? It’s like when I go karting with friends. Sometimes you get out of the kart and you get into a fight at the end. Is that what it means to be an F1 driver? Damn, you didn’t leave me. Is it possible to listen to each other a little? Everything will be fine. Is it possible to argue? Because that’s being late for 2 hours? So many of us still don’t want it. Yes, it’s true. So a lot of card races, at the beginning, when we started, it was. It was often the case at the end of the race. Oh yeah, you did that to me, you did that to me. Then the parents, the parents. We argued a lot at the time. I remember a lot of parents or team bosses coming to see my father and arguing for nothing because in the end, I had won so that’s how it was But there you go, he was getting on his nerves, but that’s no longer the case . It’s so professional , and we’ll discuss things between drivers, but it will always be constructive discussions in the end. Maybe a little heated, but half an hour later we call each other, we discuss it, and above all, in fact, the current generation, all the new drivers, we discuss a lot of things openly. And all the drivers got along really well. We’re really all united, and for causes that aren’t easy sometimes. Safety, young people in karting, things that don’t necessarily suit us. We still have something together. We have this association called the Grand-Prix Drivers Association. We’re all together, we all carry the weight of that. and we all communicate together. And so, yeah, we’re all 20 and 22 now because next year there will be 22 of us pilots. We’re all united to manage the things that suit us, not. The dangers of the sport. Yeah, the dangers of the sport, the things we don’t agree with about the future rules, about … There you go, fighting for the future generation too, who will come after us. Sébastien Chabal, rugby player, came on the show and the memory device, it was everywhere. Afterwards, in all the sports shows everywhere. And precisely, he said that too to explain. He said that a bit naturally. We had it in the discussion, but we didn’t realize how dangerous impacts in rugby can be. And so now they’re putting helmets in place. It’s in the process. There have been laws passed on the subject, so what progress does talking about it make? Of course. Yeah, I’ve had some big crashes before. Touch wood , they’ve never been too violent crashes. Despite. I’ve had more than 40. I’ve had some that really stunned me. But yeah, I’ve already had blurred vision and a headache for three or four days. So yeah, concussion, not when it hits, actually. I like it. Not in some crashes. Yeah, I took 40 2g for people who want to see this crash, it’s not that impressive. I actually hit a concrete wall , and it was in Miami in F3 in 2022, and. And I go out, I hit, I hit both knees, I can hardly walk right after, and I remember. I take my shower the next morning and I collapse in the shower. I lose my balance, I fall. I’m doing pretty well. And. I managed to start last, to finish eighth in that race. Fuck, I was hurting everywhere, it was horrible. 40 2g is very dangerous. I’m kidding, right? Yeah. I said not for long. But I also played Riner Red. It wasn’t great . Yeah it was average. A rafale ejection seat. When it’s there, it ejects. It sends 20 zero 28 seconds. Yeah. You get to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in less than a second. But like that, it can’t be very fun. I prefer to take myself aside. And off the circuit because here, we’re talking about safety. Just you. How do you know life, How do you get asked sometimes. But do you actually drive very slowly, a bit like the Americans who drive quite slowly in big cars? Or do you like to drive a bit sportily? I love it. I love cars in general, I am. I’m passionate about cars before being passionate about F1, before competition. What I love is the car itself, the engines, the fuel, the tires. That’s the object that makes the car. For me, it’s my world. In a car, you feel free, you can go anywhere and I love it, I really love it and I show it a little on my YouTube channel that I created. But I ‘m in the process of making a small collection with my dad, buying some cars that were his dream all his life. I’m lucky to be able to do that now and my father, for example, he always dreamed to have a Corvette for example, so that was the first thing I spent. It was buying him a Corvette. An old one or a. Go from 2012. So it’s not that recent, not that old, but it’s an iconic model and he always wanted to have a Corvette from those years. He’s going to try things that I build. So on my YouTube channel and it’s cool. I’ll put the link if you want to go see videos like that, some. I saw that you made a video about your vacation, I made a lot of videos. Are you mad at me? In fact, I want to show the things that I would have liked to see as a kid as an F1 fan, a fan of F1, of cars. What’s behind it, the little things that we don’t necessarily show in detail. For example, could we film my vacation but we film what it was like inside, in a big boat. I was lucky enough to spend a week on a yacht. Yeah. That’s what you could not imagine when you were young. Well, no, no, no, it’s clear that it wasn’t. We were going on vacation, so no, no, we spent a week like that, it wasn’t conceivable. So we show. Here’s the neighborhood, a little bit of the crew. Where is it or do they sleep? The park? Also the part with the engines of the big boat, but all the toys that are also on board. Yes, a small submarine, Exactly. There, that’s it, the small boat next to it. The board, it’s stuff. That you discovered, you. That I didn’t know. Social, is that it? In fact, there was a year when I asked. A. Here’s someone very rich if I could go and see the boat, just look at what was inside. We were refused with a friend of mine. So I said to myself, well, if I have the chance to go back on a boat, I’ll show. So I ‘m going to open the doors. Doors. There, I’ll open the doors because Because all this isn’t real life, it only lasts for a while too. You have to know when you can, when you can. There. And touching, it only lasts for a while, but that’s something. We don’t see every day. You who have known both with and without money, does money make you a little happier anyway? I think you have to have the right people around you to be happy. Anyway. It’s certain that yes, clearly, it’s. Honest. And it’s less difficult in life. It’s other problems. But there you go, to have. A solid family around me, having my partner who supports me every day, having a team of coaches and managers, that’s what’s really close. I think that’s the most important thing in the end. It’s true that, with all that, we’ve trained and I’m in this situation which is a dream situation for everyone. But on our own, on our own, couldn’t we? What’s a salary scale, effort without giving? I don’t care, but it’s several hundred euros, several million. When you’re a great driver, it depends. It depends on which driver you’re doing. Yann It’s like in all sports actually, I think there’s the lowest salary to the highest. As I said earlier, my first year it was between 30 and 35,000 €. There you go, now there are drivers who earn well over 20, 30, 40, 50 million euros, so it can be huge. And. Others who earn less. So there you go, I’m not going to give my exact salary, but I earn a very good living, I’m proud to be able to live off my passion. But it’s also good to have role models. I find people who succeed, who earn a good living because you have to make people dream. In fact, yes, you have to want to make role models that you’re not sure about of course. And you see, I say ah look, this guy, he started from there, he has this today. It’s cool to realize. I think that realizing the luck, the luck that I have, is also a strength I think from my family because we know the value of money, how difficult it was at the time. Now, when I go karting and I buy a set of new tires, it’s the end of the world for my father. He says. But. You spent €150. you bought a a set of new rear tires It’s true, why do what I do plus competition, But. But I bought a set of new tires that we couldn’t afford at the time. Buy me your parents because they made a lot of sacrifices. It’s that when you started to earn a very decent living, you were able to give them nice gifts in addition to the Corvette Well, I think that. The best thing is that my father was able to rebuild his house as he had it before, so with the garage and the house next door. So I helped them rebuild it. He did it as he wanted because he doesn’t want to let anyone do it, so he did it himself again. So a second house in his life to rebuild. But there you go. I helped finance all of this and that’s my greatest pride. That’s what he suffers from. Not from everything they brought me and that can now have a normal life. And I’m proud that now my father also works for me with my mother. He manages me all the time, all the side part that we didn’t think existed in Formula One, but the whole part. Merchandising and Asset management, car management, car maintenance. My father, he’s having a blast. Oh yeah, I am. I came here with a car and he’s gluing the wing back on. He showed me new tires on the car. So yes. It’s always what he dreamed of and I’m happy now that we’re here. He’s proud of you. I can imagine the question, I hope? You’ll ask him Guillaume I hope. I think we’ll be proud once we’ve managed to go where are we going to go? It’s certainly already very good. We’re among the 20 best drivers in the world, but I’m not world champion. And that’s what I know. What I want is to win and I’m still far from that. So there’s still work to be done. I know you didn’t answer me earlier, I drive fast on the road. Sorry? Yes, I like the car. You gave me a political answer. It’s true, I don’t have the car. Yes, no, in fact that’s all it is. So when do you drive a little fast because you’re used to it on the track or is that what it means to be really tough? You’re taking out something that goes at 350? Do you respect it when you find yourself in your car do you drive fast? And second question is that at red lights, do you have guys who are a bit clumsy who recognize you and who… Oh yes, it happens with you. Yes, that. Happens lots of times, but. So there was a period where I drove a lot. I did many, many kilometers. Per years even went to races with it in my car for example. That was at the beginning of my career and There were periods where yes, when I finished the Grand Prix, I didn’t even realize the speed I was going. And it’s really serious in fact, because I drove at 300 all weekend, I took my road car, I had the impression of being able to open the door and get out even though I was going at 150 kilometers per hour. instead of 110. It’s very very… Nice. You shouldn’t do that, it’s the road, it’s not a circuit, there are dangers, there are no marshals who will say well there is someone crossing, or here there’s a patch of oil, or here there’s a deer that’s going to cross. Well no, it’s risky. Doyou have twelve Points ? I don’ have the French license anymore. he’s good ! I would never have said but But I had my eleven points before the round. I had my eleven points. There are twelve. There are twelve. Yes, I lost one on a climb on a And yeah on a downhill. I had a car at the time. My company car will. Tell us that really no, even that. And so I let go of the accelerator and in fact his car went into neutral to save gas and at the bottom of the hill, well I got to 155 so there were 130 and I remember the motorcycles. So there you go, start etc and I stopped. And do you recognize me or not? Yes and. And the gentleman tells me a little signature Mr. OCON at the bottom of the ticket Yes, let’s go. Signature.. So I lost three points, that’s fine There wasn’t a driver who didn’t have a driver’s license ? as a driver. Oh really? Can you lose your license? Yes actually I think so. But from what I heard, I’m not sure. But from what I heard, it’s like a boxer hitting in the street. Oh yeah, I think that’s complicated and I think that Fabio Quartararo if I don’t say stupid things he didn’t have a license. If you don’t have it you can’t loose you carrier they can get you out of F1 ? That’s also very serious in fact, because we’re all ambassadors for road safety with the FIA, there’s the International Automobile Federation where there’s a whole campaign behind road safety and We can’t do stupid things like that. So it’s better to go on a circuit or in a controlled environment or close a road. We don’t even talk about drinking and driving. No, I don’t drink. You know. You never drink. I’ve been never drunk. Is that true? No, never. You have a very low body fat. I love it when you manage to Switch ahah But I’m telling you because alcool is fat that’s what I think. Ah that’s sugar! Yes, that’s it, yeah, we had great doctors who came here. Yes, ok, that rosé is sugar, yes, then I rosé, You don’t drink alcohol. so you don’t drink to stay fit It depends on the moment, but at the end of winter training, so that’s where we really gain mass We develop, we build the physique, but we have a health capital that is higher than at the end of the year because with all the traveling, etc., we get tired. I’m about 4 and a half% let’s say, of body fat. I’ve always had a very fast metabolism, but with all the cardio, with the cycling in the sauna, etc., it burns fat, even if it’s not just water. 4 and a half is much less than the average. The average is 20 ? No, I think it’s eleven I’m not saying anything stupid but I think it’s eleven. Anyway I’m not sure either. And is there doping? But you know, I asked the question. We asked Sébastien Chabal Sometimes there are anti-doping controls. Does it exist in F1 or is it more at the engine level that there are guys who cheat a little? So, we are tested for doping, So I do Pee in the pot at random too like the athletes we had on the show. Exactly. So there are several systems. There was a system for three years, I was checked, that is to say that I had to say exactly where I was every day of the year and between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., someone can come and knock on the door to check me. You know that I really talked about it to a lot of friends. It’s horrible. I talked about athletes and people don’t know that, we don’t know. Yes, it’s a violation of privacy, but. It’s extremely restrictive. It seems that it’s extremely embarrassing because there’s a person you don’t know, who watches you urinate, not another liquid, that’s it. And it’s still the last race in fact, I was checked on Sunday evening and I told the guy I say you know, I have nothing to reproach myself for, but after a 2-hour race where I’m dehydrated. Where I can’t take it anymore and we have to take the flight home because the next day we have the debrief with the team. Well, it was better to come Saturday evening, because Saturday evening the qualifying is shorter etc. And there you go, it’s not feasible to do that Sunday evening. But hey, that’s how it is, that’s the rule. So I know, I think we have to do it. Yes, so I had to comply with doing that, so I had to drink right away. A liter and a half of water, okay, but for 3 hours I couldn’t go to the bathroom because well, we do nothing but sweat during the race, so even if we drink a lot. Well, that means yeah, it’s fine. He said to me yes you’re still going, you drink all evening because you’re dehydrated, but I say thank you. Yes, we waited 3 hours. I think that’s it. Yes. But that happens often. There’s an anti-doping control. Yes, yes, yes, yes. One this year, at least four times – four times already this year. But yes, you have to be very careful. For example, cough syrup is really simple, I take a cough syrup that can test positive. Wow. Because there are little things, we’re not going to do it to improve performance, but rather by forgetting or by bad luck of having taken the wrong thing at the wrong time. So yes, there are things that reduce the heart rate, help to have clearer vision throughout the race, concentration, etc. I’m taking an expert, in my opinion, there’s someone other than you on the set who can tell you. That it was Florent Manaudou who said Yeah, you see, I think it’s him, He had done a doping control and the next day, the person re-welded and second time in a row, it was random, had two days in a row. That can happen. To anyone. It was the same person. He said You forgot something ten years ago, repeat. You, are you in a funny thing with a bit of control? I had something once, I was at my training center. it was snowing The gentleman arrives but at 6:30 in the morning and it was my recovery day so I was planning to have a little late nap until 10:10:30. Did I get up every day? I had done it for a week, we had trained every day, all day, without rest. And the only day off that I have where I can sleep more. So, he arrives at 6:30. He arrives, he makes me a coffee. Yeah, yeah. I said okay sir, but if we can do it quickly, I have to be able to go to sleep, that would be cool. But yeah, the gentleman, obviously, if his job. He comes. To get up every day at that time, etc. But I just wanted to do it quickly and go to sleep. I saw that you rarely talk about your private life. You show this network but you rarely talk about it in interviews. Is there a reason? Do you want to remain discreet? What is your point of view on this that shows many others who lie? Not at all. Well, that’s what I’m trying to do a little more on YouTube now. Show the things I like in a little more detail, which are a little more of my private life. But I never found it very interesting because I think I have nothing to teach anyone. I didn’t necessarily find myself interesting except to show, to be a driver on the circuits and drive the car. I didn’t find that I necessarily had something that could attract people who or people would be interested in any subject. I did things in my corner and then. And then I realized over time that there are a lot of fans, a lot of supporters in fact, who ask for a little more. That’s real life, what it’s like behind the scenes, etc. And that’s why I opened this YouTube channel. You’re followed by 2,8 millions people who follow you all the time. Afterwards, we have more empathy, we know a little about the person we know a little. Oh yeah, his wife, I see who she is. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, there are people we know a little more sometimes and have more empathy for. Maybe. Yeah, I know, but maybe I’m more old school. Actually. Maybe show less. Show less yes maybe a little less on social media You show your sweetheart on the other hand. Yes, of course I’m Proud. She’s there to support me She has a very busy life too. For her part, she understands. What does she does in life. She’s in her fifth year of medical school so she’s going to do cervical-facial surgery. Later. So that’s her goal, so she knows what the sacrifices are of working hard to achieve what she wants and she manages to help me enormously, especially with my preparation, especially with the logistics in addition to my family who also helps me. And I’m very lucky to have someone who understands because it’s not easy. We’re gone 24 weekends a year, a year, and that’s just the shopping. To keep up with the media life. Hot. The rest, there’s everything else around. These are all the events that need to be done. Going to work at the simulator, at the factory, with the team, the tests, that’s the whole media tour. There’s also everywhere. So yes, it’s hard, of course, to have a normal and healthy life as a couple, to be balanced. That’s what being balanced is. But there you go, I found someone who understands me and supports me. And then with the money, the success, the temptations to explode, it’s not necessarily easier to have a healthy, orderly life, etc. Yes, we don’t necessarily attract the healthiest people with all that, but I’m lucky, as I said earlier, to be very well surrounded and to still have the same group of people and the same group of friends that I had before all this. In fact, that’s never changed. And I’m also proud to be able to give them years of experience on a boat. Exactly! It’s my best friend who does MMA who is someone promising too who came with me on the boat, who had a dream vacation like me. So there you go, these are things that make you happy. How did you meet him? Have you already explained ? it’s through the Formula 1 ? It’s through friends, by the way, someone who was on the show Oh really? Ragnar? Dorian, did you know Dorian? It’s through Dorian BOCCOLACCI A friend of us And in fact, Dorian’s girlfriend knows Flavie. There you go. Ah ok, that’s how it is. It’s often either through friends or at work. That’s it, those are the two main ones. There you go. People talk about you? There are some very big fans. We talked about the series on Netflix, there’s a documentary series that was made and in fact we see that there are people who are really big fans of F1, who follow it. There are even some who don’t necessarily get along well there, but who follow, who buy tickets, who save up to really follow the drivers, etc. Have you ever had fans who go too far? You know, in your private life, we have a hard time imagining what it’s like to be an F1 driver or to see it on the circuits. There are lots of people and at the Explorer GP they saw people. It was crazy, it’s crazy. And we saw you, there you go, with lots of people in front of you. Are there sometimes some who go a little too far, sometimes great actors who had things, people in their garden, who put binoculars, I had things like that. Yes, yes, I had some, I had a few. I think that most people are very kind in the world of motorsport and all the fans and supporters that I have, honestly, we share the same passion and it’s really nice to see all that. I have a community that is really incredible and it’s cool. Afterwards yes, I experienced more complicated things, Once there was A gentleman of a certain age there, who had taken the taxi because for him I was like his son. So. That I had it, I had signed an autograph for him once. So. He left from the south of France, he took a taxi, he came to Évreux where my parents live. He found the address of the people of my parents who reside. And he Arrived in front of the intercom. He rang. It was my grandmother who was there because I was off my parents as well And there’s my grandmother. He said : can I come in? A grandmother, of course, tells him no. And then, the man gets angry and says yes, my son is coming in, talking about me. And in fact, he had spent all his money. So with the taxi, he really had nowhere to go. But except that we didn’t know the man. And Well, it was complicated, you know. It was a complicated situation and so the man managed to leave, etc. But it’s a little scary, you know. Someone who finds his address like that? My grandmother was there. No, we weren’t there. The man doesn’t have any more money, but we’re not going to let him sleep at our house. Well, it might be psychiatric. Sometimes there are people, they tell you it’s your son, sometimes there are… Yes, that could be it. I think it was a bit more like that or there was another time too, it was quite funny when a fan came to me in the street and said, “Oh, I don’t like you.” oh why ? Well, I don’t like you. I live with what you give off on social media and always me. I don’t like it at all. And in fact, we talked for ten minutes on the sidewalk. But he was serious. Yes, I really believed it. Really, really. We discussed a lot of things, a lot of situations. He explained to me why he thought that because I wasn’t a nice guy, etc. And at the end of the discussion, he said to me, “Well, you see, I’ve changed my opinion. Fuck you,” and I found that really interesting. Actually, because I don’t know if I like you, but it’s… Really interesting, actually, is when we can get something out on social media, image, etc. What can the media say about us? And in the end, when we know the person, it’s something else and it’s sad. I was quite… I was quite affected at first when someone told me I don’t like you because I don’t see myself as a bad person. There you go, I didn’t hurt anyone. I’m trying to help these politicians too, who can sometimes make decisions, who can annoy people in the street. No, that’s… That’s polarizing. No? And then, well, who told me he didn’t like me when he didn’t know me well? It touched me a little. So I stayed with him for ten minutes. We talked and then he told me that at the end, so I was happy. And we were talking. There was a documentary series on Netflix where they follow you. In fact, you feel like you’re living from the inside. Finally, a season of F1 where you told me I have the impression that it’s not really me sometimes, yeah, you have that, you have that feeling or it’s not at all the person we know when we know you a little, is that it? In fact, there were, there were a lot of seasons on Netflix and I think the first season was quite true about a lot of things. And then it was very romanticized, very scripted in Hollywood style, obviously, so that people continue to follow and there is a story and That there’s something at stake. That there’s something at stake, that’s it, that it’s a little more spicy, let’s say, so that people stay, stay hooked and that’s understandable over so many seasons. But there are times when yes, I say to myself but it’s not like me, There are times when it’s not necessarily me, I wouldn’t have liked it. That’s what this sentence cut with this sentence coupled together to make me say something. You can Completely Change the Meaning of a sentence I did a TV show and not long ago at the time and I remember the traitors, that’s the name of the show it’s very very funny to experience. And in fact, I remember, there are times when it seems that what I’m watching like that when in fact it’s a moment that is taken in our brief moment, where I’m watching something else that is a shouting match. Which makes us feel good too. In fact, at the beginning we sit down, they tell us well fifteen seconds where we’re not going to say anything and so inevitably there are some who do like that, who look down at everything. And then they’ll put on sad music or whatever thinking they’re dejected after a race, but it’s just in time in fact that the moment happens. Do you think they’re calibrating the microphones or what? But it’s happening. Very clever. And very clever. It’s exceptional and I think it put a lot of light on us. And on Netflix, it’s a huge opportunity to be on Netflix. Of course. It’s a crazy thing. But there you go, the seasons have passed, there are things that were, that were less, less correct. It’s with the years after that people get to know you little by little. Yes, yes, that’s it. I hope in any case. To be able to show more Of how I really am. And it’s also difficult as a driver, with the pressure we have with the teams, we can’t be 100% ourselves. And that’s why I want to show more. I want to show. That’s the family side, what we really do, how passionate we are about the things we do and so are those around me. I think there are a lot of cool stories to tell and I like that. So that’s the dynamic we have right now. I like it. I also have a team that is very motivated with HAAS too, which is building a lot. We have a team that is growing month by month. And there you go, it’s going to become a great team. Afterwards We’re going to test the reflex machine in two minutes to practice. You told me go first, I’ll show after. No, no, no, I’m. Getting on your nerves because there are tricks you want to show. Yeah, I can, I can? Do you want to put something in? Yeah, but besides, what I was saying earlier, great luck still to have a machine like that. Doesn’t exist anymore Too much of a real machine Just before I had noted Did you ever receive a private message in DM that surprised you from someone you followed when you were younger? Or yes, I was following an American singer, I don’t know who follows you. Were you ever pleasantly surprised by a message that. Made lots of people, lots of people? Honestly, I wouldn’t know how to name a person if I had to name someone, USAIN BOLT I met him at a Grand Prix. We chatted for about ten minutes. And he’s someone for me. he was one of my idols clearly from sport. We have When I was younger, I injured myself a lot in training. As I was telling you earlier, it’s a training that’s not easy to have. And he also injured himself a lot. We were able to talk about that. And. Those were priceless things. I miss so many messages in fact, from incredible people. I try to follow as much as possible. For example at Monza Michèle Laroque who is a great friend of our family, who has also had me in films. Which Film ? Honeymoon with my mother. It’s called with Michèle Laroque, so it’s a film that was on Netflix and she gave me the chance to act into the movie . I t’s hard. It’s hard. Yes, it’s very very hard, but on top of that I’m only a minute so I can’t imagine making the whole film. But she arrives the other day with Tony Estanguet and Laurence Ferrari to see me in Hass motorhome. And Laurence Ferrari. I see her on the news. There she is, she arrives. Yes, these are famous people’s names, it’s crazy. And Tony Estanguet, of course, we all know him for everything he’s accomplished in his career. And I’m still there, surprised like a kid. Yeah, you still have kid’s eyes right? Think when he says to them But why are you coming to see? But that’s really cool, you know. Incredible! And so you met Usain Bolt? Who was that? I met a lot of people. Hi everyone! Now I think Ryan Reynolds, for example, huge fan. He’s an incredible person. I’ve always been a huge Marvel fan too Brad Pitt in the film F1 ? Well, Pitt, Pitt, we saw him and… Even seen him amazing. Plus. He’s with with us No, no, it was crazy, it was crazy. There are a lot of incredible personalities. Honestly. It’s funny to see so many people. And I saw that you were… I don’t know if we say Egerie from the brand Killian Barry. We had Killian Hennessy who created a perfume brand called who has a really good smell I have it also, but I still have Killian and he’s really a great character. He must have told you the story I need to watch the episode by the way. You have not seen it? It’s good. I haven’t seen that one. But I absolutely have to watch it. He’s very strong too. I’m not surprised he chose you. You have several sponsors and as an F1 driver, there are brands on the car. Okay. And do you have brands in your life that sponsor you too? Yes, yes, I have brands in my life, so there are two different things. There are team sponsors, there are also personal sponsors, that is to say that we have personal spaces on the helmet, on the cap, on the suit which are quite limited and seen with the team before signing the contract. But yes, I’m lucky to have quite a few sponsors and there are people I’ve enjoyed working with for quite some time and new ones too who are coming along, so it’s very cool. You have a watch brand too, I think? Yes, of course, but I have the trendy brand which has a watch and a… Here’s a Swiss watch. Yes, exactly. And so it’s been my sponsor since the beginning of the year. So, I wear their watches at all the Grands Prix. And. It’s a very nice family business. So this year I’m working with them too. Before bringing the machine back into place. What can we wish for you? It’s been a few years now, you’re 13th today, it’s going well, I don’t want to… Talk about cents, Guillaume. I’m down but that gives me cold sweats. 13th disaster, disaster. But no, we have to. What can we wish for you? Progression, I think. With this team I am very well surrounded. We just need to make progress with this car. We will have improvements at the end of the season. It’s a very tight year because it’s the last year of. The homologation. Of these cars. Next year, it’s a blank page, we’re starting from scratch. We should have cars that are close to 400 kilometers next year, so it’s going to be crazy. But let’s hope we have a car to fight at the front because the cards are being redistributed, so why not. And I hope to accomplish great things with this team. And wish me many victories and podiums for the future. You’re going to be world champion. YES I think only to that. I get up in the morning, that’s it, I’m going to train with it, with the determination because I know I want to be stronger in the car. I want to train in the simulator every week with the team. Motivation because I know that 1/10 can make a difference, especially on weekends. Yes, I want to, I want to earn more than anything. I’ve worked all my life. My parents sacrificed their whole lives to get here. Now it’s up to me to manage everything else. To get the reflex machines going. Do you train with this beating machine? Well, actually it’s one of the first reaction machines. It was the tap tap tap tap beat. Which is… Exactly, so it’s batac coordination and reflexes. So there are several programs. There’s the 30-second program, the 60-second program, there’s also the opposite program which is very difficult. Then it’s later, on another video. But that was one of the first machines. So my training center, which is three, two, one, performs. So we started with that and now they have a full stand with crazy machines. I’ve been working with them for over ten years but there’s always a relic that’s still here being tinkered with because they can’t find more parts. So if the person wants to sell it to him, I think that’s good. But that’s yes, yes, let’s look good yes A very big difference between you and me is that a driver, he’ll see. So he’s a very good one, let’s say. Imagine, I’m average yes, but would we be an average person and a F1 driver ? There’s a huge difference in speed on this kind of machine. There are some people who have an innate reactivity. You see. It depends on what sport you play. You see if you play a lot of paddle or tennis, you’ll have a great reactivity, a good reading of the ball, good coordination, all that. That helps. Afterwards, it’s sure that this machine, I know it very well, so we’ll see what it gives. But if you’re approaching 90 years old and you haven’t done any. if you do 90/100. 90 touches in 60 seconds, if you’re approaching 100, that’s already a crazy score. That means that if you train, who would be better than me? Okay, okay. Well, it’s not a given, I’m going to get into the machine. I tie my hair up. Okay, because I’m comfortable. I think it shouldn’t be annoying. It shouldn’t get in my eyes. I’m going to put a scrunchie in, we’ll bring in the machines, it’s gone according to him, we just brought in the machine, so it’s a Batak pro. You told me. You knew this one very well. Of course, of course, I always train with it. at 3 2 1 Perfom it’s the benchmark machine, let’s say for reactivity, coordination and everything. So since I was young, yes, I know it very well, it’s a machine. So how much do you have to do now? Are there any scores that will appear? Yes, do you want me to do it before or after? You’re the one who tells me, it’s to show the difference in a guy. We’re in. But it’s possible. You’re going to be very good. That’s what we said and I already saw that you tried a little, you wanted to train before. I saw that among the people you were actually super fast. So yeah, actually it takes 60 seconds and in 60 seconds you have to make as many touches as possible. It’s simple. Okay? So as soon as one lights up, you press five. It’s very simple. Yeah, just one thing that doesn’t help us. You have to know it on the board and will make scores maybe lower than usual because there are lights and neon lights that are right in the axis when you are facing the machine. So it can be hard to discern. He gives me the excuses before and people, it’s better to put yourself in the dark. Yes, yes, in the dark you go much faster. Yeah, 15/ 20 easy keys on Thanks to the company des idées who were adorable, who lent us the machine. The gentleman was very nice, he’s there for events and sometimes sports centers too. There are even sometimes other sports besides the elephant. It’s used by lots of people, professionals to speed up, to improve. You, you get extremely high scores on this machine, you say and above all you do something crazy, it’s that we press the buttons, it lights up well. There are even harder modes where you can tap the button opposite. The opposite. And at the same time you count from 100 to zero. Yeah yeah, in fact it’s the coach who gives us lots of exercises like that to do. When it’s like that, it’s too easy. In addition, there are color codes that are placed on the ground and depending on certain numbers that give us, we have to press a color on the ground in addition to counting and doing all that to try to replicate. In fact, what we have to do with the steering wheel while we’re driving is listen to the engineer, etc. Incredible! Okay, it has to go fast. It has to go, It has to. Work, It. It has to Speed up I start this good sentence of uh Yeah, you want? I start Go ahead, go ahead, I’ll start. Yes, I would have liked to have seen you before, but because you’re going to show us positions after. So, end, it’s the machine, Yeah. You go to the machine. Any advice? Yes. Yes, legs close together, torso a little further away. Because like that, right away, your field of vision expands. You have to see. If I can actually touch. And the less you move your body, the less tired you’ll be too. That is to say, you have to be still and then you have access to everything. Okay, okay, okay, okay. You see, that’s the best thing. Really. We’re going to be very, very handsome from the front. I think we’re going to look like that several times to start the, uh, to start. Okay, so now that I don’t know more about the body, when will I stop? There are no more touches, it will stop. Okay, okay, okay. Well, here we go. Come on, three, two, one. It’s going to start. Then you don’t have the look in the middle. The look in the middle, front center. Not the head, so not the head. Try to catch it when you have the head. Oh my god! I. And I’m devastated. It’s hard Well, shit. It’s when you raise a point when I make a mistake on the touch. No, no, no, no, It’s okay. She’s a little over halfway there. She’s breathing well. The score isn’t extraordinary because she’s conscious. Go ahead, go do it. I think. Okay, it’s about keeping your gaze in the middle. Oh my, going Stop, stop a little bit in it. I’m a little bit. Huh? It’s over. It’s over at 53. I did better earlier. At the beginning. You were following, you were doing, you were doing one per second. You lost a little bit at the end. I lost a little bit at the end, but in fact I would stay in the dark. Yes, I think that when I. Think that you win at least 20 touches and the same, you didn’t breathe well because I feel you a little. That, no but because yes, I was really right in the middle of it. You, how much are you going to do, roughly? I don’t know. My best score in the dark warmed up with the right conditions and everything? 138. Think if I do above 100, it won’t be Bad If I manage it It will be. Twice as fast. So. I hope so. We’ll see. Well, listen, here we go, go if you ‘re there, it’s. No, it’s not expensive at all. It’s really. It’s like there’s the funfair, the sewing machine. Don’t want to, is that it? What is it? He’s right. How much money is it really with? Is that how far we’re going? 98 Rahlala, that’s good. Wait, I told you I was doing more, exactly. It’s true that it’s me. It’s this position. We can see right away. He put it. You really made yourself like a spider in fact. And in fact you say to yourself it’s very difficult, it’s when you’re the one at the top, suddenly you have the projector inside and you don’t see the light, but you have the reflections of the ice. It’s not a vegetable garden, we’re not looking for excuses. But no, no, it’s the daylight in the air that hits here a little everywhere. So suddenly you’re having trouble, it’s very good. 98 anyway. Well, I won’t hide from you that I’m going to redo the machine for a quarter of an hour to try to improve my score. My poor score at 53, I’ll still put the image after the credits if ever we manage to do better. Yes, thank you in any case for being seen. Thank you. It was a bit tight, it was a pleasure. We had a lot of fun and were really happy to have been able to chat a little longer in a relaxed manner and to also understand your life, the evolution and what you are lucky to experience. And congratulations for all that. Thank you for taking the time to chat a little more in detail too. It’s not something I’m used to doing, so. I know it’s not an exercise you necessarily like, but. With you it’s cool. I was very happy to do it with. You and good luck for the future and the best for you and I hope we’ll see each other again and have the opportunity to do the show again with great pleasure. Other years. Whenever you want, you’re welcome here in any case a little thank you. Thank you to the whole team for following the show and so many of you follow us and subscribe each month on our YouTube channel. Thank you very much! In audio podcast, if you’re on the road or playing sports, I send you a big hug anyway and we’ll see you very soon for another video. And then after the credits, it’s possible that another score will be displayed because I send you all a hug. Thank you.
39 Comments
On aime l'interview, fuck le sponsor
Le top 14 pour le tennis ?? Mdr c’est pas rugby ?
Il ne peut pas s'empêcher de faire "Hum" à tout bout de champ (le temps de réfléchir ?) un tic de langage plus que pénible en tout cas
" Je veux être Champion du monde, je pense qu'à ça " Désolé, il faut du talent pour ça, et tu ne l'as pas.
Non Esteban n est pas a 4% de masse grasse et la moyenne est loin de 11%
1:13:39 Au point on économise pas, bien au contraire 🤓
Je veux sa veste !!
Les vidéos de sa chaine youtube sont incroyables ! Tellement humble et gentil !!
Ça serait bien d’essayer d’avoir une interview avec des macano d’écurie
Le jeu des réflexes ils l’ont pas fait du coup?????
Merci super épisode
On dirait que Guillaume a invité son frère
S'entrainer avec du "mauvais" materiel il a raison cela permet dans la difficulté de progresser mieux et plus vite.
Par exemple "TCHESNOCOV" au tennis.
Il y a des vidéos où il s'entrainer sans relâche contre un mur avec des balles presquss crevées
Super interview, très agréable à regarder et à écouter ! merci LEGEND pour ces invités incroyables
Il est cool Esteban, une belle personne en plus d'être un excellent pilote. Il mérite amplement d'être en F1. Lâche rien champion, le jour de gloire viendra.
4.5 de masse grasse c'est impossible. Et jamais de la vie la moyenne est à 11. C'est plutôt autour de 25.
Suggestion d invité : Yann barthès ! 😊❤ merci Guillaume pour tes interviews ❤❤❤
Génial, j'ai découvert dans le bon sens un autre Esteban !!! Merci beaucoup à vous deux pour cette excellente émission…
Je ne le connaissais que de nom, très belle découverte. Ça a vraiment l'air d'être une belle personne. Et sacrée histoire avec sa famille. C'est beau de voir ça ❤
Beaucoup d’humilité. Gros respect, espérant te voir en haut du podium 💪🏼
A l intention de MR PAPA OCON, vous êtes un sacrée daron…
Quel hommage🥹💪
Bravo monsieur
Le top 14 pour le tennis oui
Wow! Quelle personne humble et déterminé. Encore une autre belle découverte sur cette chaîne. Ancienne fan de F1 et le départ de Jacques Villeneuve Fils, c'est le premier jeune depuis des années qui ne m'a pas donné le goût de retourner fan de F1. Maintenant, j'ai un pilote qui va me donner le goût de regarder à nouveau les courses de voiture ❤❤❤
Merci Estaban pour avoir resté vrai et humble ❤❤🤗🤗
Estie Bestie
Un pilote méritant, à coup sûr !
Il me touche beaucoup, et je lui souhaite de toucher à la réussite !!
On a tout de suite compris que c'était une superbe personne ! La reconnaissance envers son père et sa mère est super 👍
Esteban tu es mon idole . Bravo à tes parents qui ont pu faire ce que tu es devenu
Je ne le connaissais pas mais ce garçon semble vraiment être une belle personne, très humble, posé. Et ses parents ! Waouh ! Chapeau ! D'ailleurs, pour avoir un garçon comme Esteban, d'office l'éducation derrière, ça compte. Je connais un papa qui devrait prendre exemple…😒
Inspirant, poli et qui s'exprime bien ça change de hadjar qui parle comme une racaille.
Grand fan de MotoGP, je regarde la F1 surtout en passionné de sport mécanique. je ne connaissais pas vraiment Esteban Ocon. Et là… quelle claque en découvrant cette interview ! Un mec génial, passionné, avec une super mentalité. Franchement, un régal, merci et respect 👏🔥
Un invité exceptionnel, un super pilote le meilleur Français avec Hadjar,il a une voiture pas folle je veux le voir dans une grosse écurie
Super j espère que tu réussiras a être champion du monde d ici peux
Top14 pour le tennis 😮😮??? 😂😂😂 Non c est du rugby 😊😊😊😊
Magnifique personne 🥰
Ce qui est bien dans cette émission, le parcours des le plus jeune âge au travers des parents, des gens qu'on rencontre, des mentor que l'on croise pour aller vivre son rêve ❤
“Les années les plus importantes c est maintenant” a vrai dire ça s applique tout le long de la vie …
Pas ouf la sponso 🙁
Ce gars est excellent
On s'embrouille pas, on s'embrouille pas!! Brésil 2018 Esteban, c'était un peu chaud hein!! Sympa vidéo et super pilote!
sponsor winamax c'est limite