I Found Out Why Esteban Ocon Is A "Bad Teammate"

Download The High Performance App, and watch their exclusive interview with Esteban Ocon in full: hppod.co/ocon
Would Esteban get more slack for his on track shenanigans if he was a multiple time world champion? Food for thought...
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Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. There are certain scenes from the Formula 1 calendar where race footage is used. All those rights are property of FOM. Other photos and news elements are used solely for the purpose of assisting the original content illuminate a more in depth story.
#TommoF1

[@charamia9402]

Idk why, but Ocon and Stroll being buddies because Stroll struggle making friends for being 'daddys cash' while Ocon struggles for being 'no cash' is kinda wholesome.

[@Goob2787]

And they're both so... so unlikable

[@charamia9402]

@@Goob2787 That's in the eye of the beholder.

[@Red_Tsar]

​@@Goob2787 I can understand Ocon, but Stroll? He's a genuinely good guy, even if his driving is rubbish

[@Goob2787]

@Red_Tsar Watch DTS and listen to how he talks to people he perceives as below him...

[@Red_Tsar]

@@Goob2787 DTS is never a good source of how the drivers are. It manipulates too much.

[@Iiuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

Always funny that no one ever talks about max in F3 being in one of the worst teams which hadn’t even had a podium in F3 in their history. Max won 10 races for that team. Ocon being in the prema which was by far the best team in F2 and F3 at the time.

[@Mandykiss4500]

And Ocon was in a Prema with a Mercedes Engine!!! A lot of Max’s issues were down to Massive Engine Problems (VW)!!! The Engines were different Manufacturers…

[@erikklootwijk8044]

True. As the season went on & Max started owning Ocon e.g. Spa, Norisring & Hockenheim (where they interlocked wheels), it started to mess with Esteban's head. And Van Amersfoort was using parts more / longer than necessary (because of budget contraints). Frits even told me that in person. Prema was changing everything every weekend in F3.

[@Ronny999x]

Toto Wolff and Helmut Marko both wanted Verstappen over Ocon is saying a lot. They knew he was just better.

[@gnaihccn]

But then people pointing max is in redbull and ocon was in midfield in F1 straight away

[@robkelly3801]

Max got an F1 drive because his "highlight reel" was more impressive, including a wet race where he was reportedly lapping two seconds a lap quicker than the rest of the field. Mercedes and Red Bull were fighting over his signature well before the season even ended.

[@Jrh-rp7np]

Ok so this Ocon beat Max thing in Euro F3 needs a giant asterisk,, Ocon raced for Prema which in European formula 3 especially was almost a guaranteed championship,,, and Max raced for Van Amersfoort I don’t think even had a podium to that point and the fact Max won all those races showed the world how great he was.. and Ocon had one year single seat experience,, Max was in his first year of single seaters .. and Max’s VAR teammates didn’t even finish in the top ten…

[@PeterTeal77]

Mate we don't need that perspective, this is an Ocon fluff piece.

[@Jrh-rp7np]

@@PeterTeal77 no we absolutely do to be fair and unbiased…

[@PeterTeal77]

@@Jrh-rp7np I was being sarcastic

[@Jrh-rp7np]

@@PeterTeal77 oh yeah I see that now,, sorry I read it when I was waiting for my Lyft driver at the airport and it was crazy out there on the curb ,,,

[@MrBashem]

@@Jrh-rp7np Least you didn't take it personally, good thing. Great stuff.

[@N.I.S.C]

There's a saying where i live: "you are either born an a***hole, or life itself turns you into an a**hole" I think esteban's ambitions along with the conditions his family had from the beginning forged esteban into the type of person he is in the racetrack, for better or for worse.

[@daarom3472]

stop talking about his family conditions as if he had some kind of harsh upbringing. Sure he didnt grow up in Monaco, he wasnt the son of an F1 driver or had a rich dad, but he wasn't born in Mogadishu or even some Parisian suburb. Sure his dad had to work hard but simply being able to provide the opportunity to cart/race as a family puts you in the top 1% worldwide.

[@karthikpenumetch9300]

@@daarom3472this is some of the most misinformed shit I’ve ever read

[@STROBOLIGHTS]

he is right though... people don't really know what actual harsh upbringings look like @@karthikpenumetch9300

[@geoffdb8118]

Well said. Esteban had a very different life to the hugest majority of F1 drivers, that immediately singles him out from the crowd. I respect him and his family for coming up from nothing.

[@N.I.S.C]

@@daarom3472 true, but, you know, f1 is a sport that even some millonares find it hard to get into. When more than half of the grid lives in monaco you know it's a sport where the entry fee requires a lot of money poured into you since very young. I may live a nice life and have no needs, but i would need generations of acumulated wealth to even think about getting into f1😅 Now think you are esteban in this position, he may have decent money, but when you are moving in the f1 world, decent money might as well be pennies to your peers.

[@juliantaffa4089]

He'll never be my favourite driver, but whenever he's with fans he always stops to sign as much stuff as possible. At Melbourne he stopped for quite a while to get heaps of random stuff signed, and I really appreciated that. He never lets himself forget his humble beginnings

[@Drrolfski]

There was nothing "unfair" about Max getting promoted to F1 out of F3 and Ocon not. Let's not forget that Max was driving for a backmarker team that year (vs Ocon in a top team) and had a whopping 8 DNFs and 1 DNS vs only 3 DNFs for Ocon. Without this DNF difference the F3 end ranking would have been a whole different story. Never mind that this was Max's rookie year in a formula car (vs 3 years of Ocon in Formula Renault and F3) and still he was schooling the whole grid in wet racing at the Norisring. Long story short, even then it was already obvious to everyone that Max was really something special while Ocon was just a great driver. Nothing "unfair" about that.

[@bertram-raven]

We should also remember Max's DNF's were not down to the car, they were down to the driver. That said, as Scott Mansell of Driver61 has said, "It is easier to bring someone who frequently goes over the limit to the limit than to take someone who rarely goes over the limit and bring them up to it." I would say Max is described by the first of those types and Esteban by the second. When you are in a position where to damage the car means you cannot compete in the next race, you will stay under the limit. When you do not care what happens to the car because your backer has the finances to buy a new car for each session, let along each race, the "limit equation" becomes moot. Hamilton's "lowly start and financial struggles in karting" are massively overblown to create a good story for the media. A three month period where finances were a bit tight are not any kind of struggle when compared to the years of uncertainty Ocon endured.

[@inferno4165]

@@bertram-raven impretty sure that atleast 4 of max's dnf's were due to engine failures, while ocon's dnf's were all due to driver error

[@user-tq2og9cw7q]

@@inferno4165 Max was a bigger talent, basta. The kid got 49 points in his first F1 season, in a tractor. Ocon would never have done that.

[@Axlii214]

Why didn’t u mention max was in one of the worst f3 teams and ocon was in a Prema rocket ship

[@RoyLimisAw3s0me]

Tommo love Ocon's dong or he is Ocon secret lover boy.. Tommo didn't do a deep dive on how EO cock-blocked his teammate that GOT Estaban Ocon ONLY WIN in a F1 Race cos it will never happen again cos he is just a typical French Arsehole... 2021 won and 2022 cockblocked but let Lewis and Ricciardo through rather easily... EO should be out of F1 for the sole reason he can't play a team game; in this year MONACO GP; Bruno Famin said one thing, keep the status quo to benefit from the potential car related problems top 10 would suffer (if EO played to the tune of the team principal Famin; BOTH Alpine would have scored points) but EO is just a person who can't stand his teammate ahead of him and his apology is so lacklustre calling it an unfortunate incident? you effin caused the crash in a track that is hard to overtake; and barriers on the track..

[@schmickley8082]

No way it’s been 3 years since the original ocon video

[@TommoOnYoutube]

Tell me about it 😅

[@johnthompson457]

@@TommoOnKZbinloved the bearman video, that must have jumped in popularity thanks to him racing in Saudi. Both of you from the same area I was born in too so rooting for you both.

[@RoyLimisAw3s0me]

​@@TommoOnKZbin so what is your take on OCON blocking Alonso (who played the team game to help OCON got his ONLY win in F1 to date the year before?) the next year the two teammates were racing? he only CARED to not to lose to his teammate ALONSO while letting Lewis on the porpoising Mercedes to pass both OCON & ALONSO and also letting Daniel Riccardo in the McLaren to pass both OCON & ALONSO (by giving the inside line in the same turn on both occasion they were passed? he is a nobody in the F1 with so low fan base; and I doubt OCON has the capabilities of doing what K. Mag did for Nick Hulkenberg in Saudi for P. Gasly even if there is a chance cos I feel he is not a team player!

[@RoyLimisAw3s0me]

@@TommoOnKZbin OCON only win in F1 is only because a two-time World Champ help OCON in holding Lewis Hamilton for 10 crucial laps which helped OCON to achieve his sole victory while his current Alpine win in Monza is more of great drive and mistakes from everyone around him. OCON is just a douche that is not a multiple time World Champion; if he were a multiple WC.. his behaviour is kinda expected; but he is always in midfield car cos his family has no ties and his attitude is why he has no seat in 2019... Mercedes paid for his junior drives but never thought of him in Mercedes proper; think of his attitude is the sole reason why; he is not a team player PERIOD would OCON did what K. Mag did for N. Hulkenberg in Saudi Arabia GP? my most likely assumption is NO; cos he is built like that;

[@JordanHarris]

Could have been longer. I hate hearing about him. What kind of goofball befriends Strulluvitch?

[@LearningHistoryTogether]

I find it a bit weird that you forgot, or refused to mention that max was driving a Midfield Team (Van Amersfoort Racing) during his F3 stint, while ocon drove a Top Team (Prema)

[@pidfenderlane9012]

The comment is working perfectly together with your name😉 Well done!

[@John907i]

Sorted itself out when they hit the pinnacle of motorsport bro 😉👍

[@RurouTube]

It might look unfair when Max who finished F3 in 3rd place got the call to F1 and Ocon as the winner didn't, but it is actually not. It isn't just about the points but the actual performance. If Ocon can show the same amazing drives as Max did, he would definitely got the call, so in the end it is a skill issue. Everyone that compare Max vs Ocon back then would say that Max is the faster driver. Remember that Ocon was in Prema and Prema was definitely one of the best team back then and still one of the best team today. Max basically show us that if you got the skill, people will want you. It doesn't matter if your car is inherently slower, you just need to show what you can do.

[@lordbogus6709]

Icon re used old tires from other drivers, raced on the same kind of budget as Hamilton, yet he isn't as good as Hamilton. That also says a lot. Thats no bad thing, very very few can be as good as Hamilton but it shows budget wanst the issue back then, might be now

[@benbennemans]

Wait a minute, Tommo. Where is the crucial context to this story? Why leave that out? Max arguably had the greatest junior career of any F1 driver in history. He entered F3 as a rookie and did not drive in the best team (that honor went to Ocon driving for Prema), but a bad team (van Amersfoort Racing). In 25% of the races, Max had to retire. Despite that, he did something nobody had ever done as far as I know: win 6 F3 races in a row, let alone as a rookie. In the wet at the Norisring when differences were more equalized, he was like 2 seconds a lap faster than the competition. Of course, such a prodigy turns heads. RB only got Max as they could offer him a seat in F1, otherwise Mercedes would have gotten him. It's also funny that Ocon points out that he has not been able to battle Max in F1 in equal cars. Max got where he is, because he's so good. Max did not struggle, for example against Gasly who beat Ocon on points and in quali last season (to be fair, Ocon had to retire more, but Gasly maybe had less favorable strategy here and there). Max outright destroyed Gasly.

[@scimmytag]

I hope/think Tommo wants to explain this from Ocon's perspective not from a neutral perspective.

[@MrBikboi]

What a fanboy

[@benjicool2808]

gosh are max fans unbearable

[@OreoForRuario]

The thing about Verstappen's junior career, was that it was literally his first and only year racing a car before F1. That's why it was so impressive and Merc and Red Bull were both looking at him and why he got fast tracked to F1 and Ocon didn't

[@nielsvanheteren]

Ocon also was in the best team by a mile back then, whilst Max was in one of the worst. He plays the victim but for almost his entire junior formula career he has been in top teams. Max has only been in VAR which was awful back then and still almost beat Ocon had he not DNF'd six more times.

[@FlyingSkyy]

Ok but you can't compare Max's F3 Van Amersfoort to Esteban who raced for Prema. Van Amersfoort was blowing up and never won in the Championship before Max came along so it made sense to pick Max over Esteban.

[@Evarakeus]

Not to mention Max setting records for consecutive wins and most wins in a season, all while in his first year of single-seaters to Ocon's third.

[@nielsvanheteren]

Exactly Ocon is acting like the roles weren't reversed back then. Note prema hadn't lost a single F3 season back then, whilst Max was in effectively a Haas like team on the grid, whilst Ocon was in a Red Bull. But well sounds better if you say you beat Max Verstappen and it was very much an even playing field (not). Max was also a year younger and was effectively in his first season of car racing, whilst Ocon had been driving race cars for 2 years already.

[@danieljoseph255]

In F3, Max won the most (10) races, dnf’d 8, in the worst team, and was clearly the best driver in the field at 16. Cry me a river, Steven

[@eduardosantana8300]

You are being too harsh. He obviously unaware of f3 at the time. Or maybe ocon said he’d invite him to a party if he glazed him for a video.

[@mackayoko]

I personally don’t like him as a driver, but I respect him as a person a lot due to the struggle. The pressure on him as a kid must’ve been huge and would’ve broken most people. And off track he seems like a fine bloke

[@JordanHarris]

I don't respect him as a person, when he drives like he owns the road but, barely has more skill than Lance Struluvitch.

[@notliquid1448]

​@@JordanHarris 0 wheel knowledge

[@CFCMAMO1]

​@@JordanHarris you don't respect him as a person because of how he drives in one of the most competitive and high pressure environments? Aaaaaaalright.

[@OfishcialDiscusCanada-cu9df]

Leaving out a lot of details about Esteban and Max’s racing history really diminishes the point you are trying to make here. Esteban’s story is awesome, but trying to diminish Max to boost Esteban is a bad look.

[@EntropicExergy]

It's probably the only way to make Ocon look sort of good. Too bad it's silly and completely backfires with people who know what happened between them in the junior category.

[@fahadalraeesi4325]

5:18 "If Max had decided you know what I am alright now I dont fancy doing this anymore" this is such an ignorant statment, Max have said that he always felt that his parents have divorced because of his carting career not to mention Jos actually went bankrupt and was not able to continue supporting Max. You should have done more research on Max before talking about him.

[@davidreichert9392]

What I find interesting is that his best friend on the grid is Lance Stroll (another driver who gets a lot of hate). The two come from exact polar opposite backgrounds, one from a working class family making huge sacrifices and the other is the most monied driver on the grid. Also one speaks metropolitain french and the other speaks joual.

[@justinburley8659]

What are the connotations behind metropolitan French and joual?

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

Stroll is also the reason he lost his drive at Racing Point for 2019

[@davidreichert9392]

@@justinburley8659 That was more of a tongue in cheek comment. They're just very different dialects of French, and the Canadian dialects are somewhat looked down upon in French speaking Europe.

[@justinburley8659]

@@Duval-In-The-Wall Yet he isn’t bitter about it. F1 fans should learn from Ocon

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

@@justinburley8659 Honestly fair play to him. Ocon is one of the most mis-characterized on the grid tbh, and trust me Alpine don’t help. If he drove for Williams or Stake people would like him more

[@MajieB]

Esteban was in a prema which has been frontrunner in F2/F3 forever, Max was in VAR which is at best mid field and at worst back marker. Max season was just far more impressive then Estebans Prema merchants are a dime a dozen.

[@renanbautista6222]

So basically put Ocon in a top car and he will be a serious competitor for the championship.

[@KneppaH]

@@renanbautista6222 It would be like Perez/Gasly/Albon at Red Bull

[@freyalove3831]

​@@renanbautista6222 he already was in a dominant car in his younger years vs Max. And he didn't deliver it.

[@RoyLimisAw3s0me]

@@renanbautista6222 sadly the MF Frenchie is still managed by Toto... how in the world Toto is still managing EO is ... WFT LMAO

[@dustinabigan2776]

Ocon's aggressiveness against just about everyone was pretty much the result of having to fight his way to the top against other drivers and having to grapple with a "no room for error" mentality with how much was already put in. That pretty much grew to how he races in F1. Now that I think about it, I think there was something Toto said in Grill the Grid years back that F1 drivers are traumatized kids sent out in karts in the rain (or something like that) and maybe that's the case with Ocon. You basically spent a majority of the time knowing that the rug could be pulled out from under you at any point. Yes it's the case for a lot of drivers, but it's taken to a very literal extent with Ocon given the uncertainty in his career growing up. The problem is when you transition into a situation where you're not as under threat anymore like with him being an F1 driver. The mess in 2018-2019 is already behind him for 4 years now and he's so far had a contract and good career since then. I won't rule out that there would be someone outside F1 who could approach him (or there could be some he could approach). The problem now is that his hyper-aggressive mentality that brought him to where he is wouldn't get him any further when you have to work with others now, but that mentality is still stuck. In a way, it's good that he had that mentality growing up. But at some point he has to press the brakes on that and realize that he has to let go of some fights to focus on others. All drivers naturally fight with any car they see on track, even thier teammates. The question is on how out your elbows are compared to others. In Ocon's case, the elbows were fully stretched out more so than others.

[@TestAcc-lu5cn]

Oh thats why also Stroll is a bit slow. Otherwise he would be have been insane right?

[@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten]

You can still be really successful with this mentality (Senna, Verstappen, Schumacher) but Ocon is just not fast enough for him to have this mentality and still be successful.

[@motorpolitan8884]

What Kevin Magnussen did in Jeddah recently for the team is something Ocon would never do. And that's exactly why teams like Mercedes would not want him around. There will be times where a driver has to be sacrificed or aid the teammate in a way so the whole team can benefit, and Ocon isn't helping his case by pushing teammates off the track. Let's also not forget that teams would rather not have a driver that is 186cm tall.

[@fritzfreak]

​@@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten L take I am afraid. He doesn't have a FAST CAR . that's the problem. Everyone is fast in a fast car, wtf is this garbage. Nuff said

[@KenNakajima07]

The guy has yet to realize that even while lapped he does have a roof and hot dinner on the table now.

[@princemay73]

Max would have won the championship by a landslide if his car had held up. He had 8 DNFs, half of it due to mechanical issues. So, it’s pretty obvious why RBR and Mercedes looked at Max instead of Ocon. Just consider what they’ve gone on to achieve since being in F1. Ocon’s pretty much an average driver with one or two odd races in a season where he delivers a good result.

[@MikoyanGurevichMiG21]

Thanks to Gasly, he isn't even the best French driver on the current grid right now.

[@raunakroy1738]

@@MikoyanGurevichMiG21 you mean the same Gasly who is 21st in a 20 drivers Championship? Comparing Gasly to Ocon is like comparing Mazepin to Michael Schumacher

[@crustyydavid1271]

@@raunakroy1738 bro what are you smoking and its been 2 races😂

[@raunakroy1738]

@@crustyydavid1271 and?

[@mxm_prime2191]

Let's conveniently ignore what team Max was in, in F3 and the reliability and issues. Without that Ocon never would have beaten him and he knows that. I know the video is trying to defend Ocon but lets not brush over important details to make him look better.

[@StevenQ74]

Max drove for Van Amersfoort in F3, who had never won a race in that championship before, Ocon drove for Prema. Max also had an engine failure wich because of the strange rules in that championship meant Max had a 10 place grid penaly for the next 3 races, and Yes, Max was leading that race at the Nurburgring when the engine failed and could have also won all 3 races that weekend and he could have won more than 10 races and won the championship without that.

[@eduardosantana8300]

Yes but his job is to make a story, not tell the truth. He needs to create a perspective that panders to an audience.

[@Astrokobidead]

Lol so give ocon red bull and put max in alpine ...ocon will easily win the wdc

[@StevenQ74]

@@AstrokobideadHe would have to beat Perez first, Ocon will never win as much races as Max in that Red Bull

[@Astrokobidead]

@@StevenQ74 lol let's have them fight in an alpine

[@StevenQ74]

@@AstrokobideadNothing would be left of Ocon

[@changeofclans]

why did you skip the most important background information as to why Max was so much more impressive than Ocon in F3?

[@owenlamb2771]

The fact I got an Alpine Ad on this🤣🤣

[@TommoOnYoutube]

BUY ONE

[@pidfenderlane9012]

​@@TommoOnKZbin, maybe he wants a fast car🤷🏼‍♂️

[@muhammadrafizhafran4396]

@@pidfenderlane9012 💀💀💀

[@OscarMartini]

Short answer: He’s French

[@sgt.thompson98]

But so is Gasly, and he is not a bad teammate

[@OscarMartini]

@@sgt.thompson98yes yes i know. Just a joke

[@miguelcebriancarrasco1907]

he is less french @@sgt.thompson98

[@sgt.thompson98]

@@OscarMartini I know as well, I was hoping you would make another joke on how Gasly being French is fine, but not Ocon

[@TommoOnYoutube]

Allez les bleus 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷

[@cursed2322]

Imagine this for a second, the guy who finished 3rd in the F3 championship did so in his very first season of single seater racing. Not to mention he was the guy who won the most races that year and only missed out on p2 because of a disastrous last race.

[@dukirps]

Seb and Danny also have blue-collar roots, but they're literally the most loved drivers

[@areebsiddiqui758]

People used to like Ricciardo, now he just comes across as a forced PR and marketing clown who still has a seat more so cause of the DTS cameras and merch sales rather than merit.

[@thesnackbandit]

@@areebsiddiqui758 I don't think he's changed as a person. He's just not a top tier driver anymore so all that's left is this veneer of cockiness and that doesn't really work when he's getting thrashed by Tsunoda.

[@hans-joachim-klaus1087]

I think ou forget his Red Bull times when everyone hated him because he was kind of a dick then

[@abel6846]

Yeah, it’s not like Seb was widely hated for years. Oh wait…

[@freyalove3831]

I guess people have social amnesia. Vettel was an arrogant prick when racing with Redbull. If not ask Webber. For he is still arrogant prick, he changed his tune when he stopped winning WDC.

[@norbertjanssen814]

Max was in his first year of racing cars. He was with a team that had never scored a single podium and he had more engine related failures than anybody else that season. Ocon was driving for Prema with Mercedes backing. Max winning six in a row and ten in total made him obviously better than Ocon in F3 and in karting before that. Mercedes had Ocon as a junior and still desperatly wanted Max to join them. Says enough. So it´s not strange that everyone saw Max as the better prospect even though he finished third in the championship.

[@raunakroy1738]

The main problem is that Ocon always paired with drivers with huge fan bases.. Perez, Ricciardo and Alonso.. With Perez i will also blame Checo for the crashes. Now the thing with Alonso is that everyone expected Ocon to be miles off Alonso's pace, but that didn't happen. Yesterday i saw a very interesting stat. Alonso and Ocon throughout 2022 and 2023 started next to each other 29 times out of 46 races( When Alonso was P7, Ocon P8, when Ocon was P6, Alonso was P7 like that). The closest any other teammate got was between Leclerc and Sainz and that was 12 times.. So you see, when you are starting next to each other in a race almost 70% of the time, there's always a chance that there will be some contact and it did happen.. In race too, Alonso and Ocon always remained close to each other so a chance of a contact is high. Now the main thing was Alonso's fanbase.. Tbh, Ocon don't even have 0.1% of Alonso's fanbase, so whenever any incident occurred, everyone would blame Ocon for it, but if we look closely there were some instances where Alonso could have avoided, but Ocon doesn't even have a fanbase to defend himself. If that was Verstappen or even Checo in place of Ocon, there would have been 2 opinions.

[@TheNotoriousB.E.N.]

Exactly, the Alonso/ Spanish fanbase just despise him for a few instances. And then you have the Gasly and Perez camp that just pile on to the hate train because it’s the ‘popular thing to do’

[@charlesmondon1803]

The spanish fanbase of Fernando is the most toxic and unbearable out there, not suprising they all jumped on the Ocon hate bandwagon.

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

​@@charlesmondon1803 Let's be fair, Lewis and Max fans would be just the same. Hell, even Charles fans are toxic to Carlos and they're often close and even more fair at times between each other.

[@LH_447]

You are right

[@Axumm96]

spanish toxicity bla bla bla bro dont try to rewrite history, we all saw how ocon had tunnel vision and only cared about beating alonso which he did in alonso final year with alpine with 6 DNFS!!!@@charlesmondon1803 I am so happy alpine is shit this year they fucking deserve to be a backmarker

[@Ronny999x]

Max was in a lesser team in F3. Many DNF that weren't his fault. So Max got to F1 earlier because he was just better then Ocon.

[@Versatilty]

Ocon is a driver that I really want to see succeed even though I wouldn't say I'm a fan per se. He just has an incredible back story and the more I hear they more amazing it seems to get. I hope he at least gets to win another race (F1) before he's forced to hang it up.

[@Redlingstein]

Totally agree. He is a great guy off track and in F3 with Max he showed HE IS FAST

[@The_ZeroLine]

He has succeeded. He is wealthy now and can take care of his family forever in style. So, it’s a shame he’s never grown up. He got a 5-year contract from Renault and has only hurt himself by how he’ll sacrifice finishing higher up in the order simply to ensure his teammate is behind him. Look at what he does @ the start vs Pierre in 🇧🇷 2023 + in Hungary vs Alonso in 2022 (not to mention later in the at T2). He’s costing both himself + his teammate. And that’s just 3 examples of many. He would never have defended hard against Hamilton to allow FA to win the race if the situations were reversed as we later saw. Then we saw how he acted in Brazil w/Alonso during quali. He’s just a dirty driver and a bad sport.

[@Valinho666]

No ocon=Ego>talent

[@rickvd27]

Tbf Max had a lot of retirements due to bad reliability in F3. Otherwise it would have been much closer and he could have challenged for the championship win. But still, its totally normal that it felt unfair in the moment for Esteban.

[@emmanuelstephenson3844]

It was Max’s first time in a car. That’s why his performances were more impressive compared to Ocon. That’s why he was fast tracked to F1. Also Ocon was in a better team with Prema. Look at where both there teammates ended up in the championship.

[@tijgertjekonijnwordopgegeten]

​@@emmanuelstephenson3844And Verstappen was also younger.

[@MrManultra]

Good reminder that there is no use in self pity. Noone gives a crap how hard your journey was. Only what you do now matters.

[@MrVsGarage]

You bring up a good point: does a driver need to be a good teammate? If you look at any of the greats, they all have famous clashes with their teammates. But I guarantee any team would still pick them over someone friendly and mid

[@Michallote]

The thing is Ocon is mid at best. He's not WC material. And having him be like that is a liability for the teams constructors.

[@bynahelemaal]

Tbf, We used to read abt jos going damn near going broke to finance max’s karting career, and jos was repairing and rebuilding his own engine, perhaps partially also explains why jos was so hard on max, bc he equally went all in to finance max’s career… (besides jos just being an a-hole in general) and in f3 ocon had the winning car while van amersfoort racing was a small team, meaning max did better than ocon in a worse car, in terms of wins, as well as just showing he had something special, being able to do as well as drivers in better cars. That’s why toto and helmut wanted him over ocon

[@michaljancar339]

So what you are basically saying is that Ocon always feels a degree of fear and uncertainty about his future. This "fight-mode" mentality seems to have cultivated in him from his early days in racing where he had no option, but to always be the best to make ends meet. I'm no expert, but I think the best approach for Ocon is to work on himself mentally and rewire some aspects of his mindset. He is no longer in the same danger as he was before F1 (although you still always need to prove your talent to keep your seat). But he CAN feel more comfortable and not always go at 110%. He is an established driver and he CAN substitute that uncertainty with confidence and contentment. But to give him some credit, I think he is already showing some signs of 'ease' or 'maturity' since Pierre joined Alpine. This year Alpine doesn't have the capability to fight, so maybe Ocon can focus on himself and come out as a better driver.

[@MrBashem]

It's a strange take. I think he's just a person who gets jealous easy. He didn't have it that much harder than others and winning is important for everyone.

[@AirflowToTheTurbo]

@michal Well said, I agree

[@muhammedalikilic5460]

Great comment, but last part didn't age so well 😅

[@michaljancar339]

​@@muhammedalikilic5460 hahah, well... at least I've tried

[@Zigzagbrain]

if max said " i dont fancy doin this anymore" he'll probably have a wrench shaped dent in his helmet

[@KneppaH]

I bet there were real moments like these in his karting days.

[@Hello_there_obi]

Incredible video! Probably one of the best you’ve done. People don’t account for driver psychology anywhere enough as they should. Hats off to you Tommo!

[@Artois2011]

Thank you for this, Tommo ! Truly insightful and well done! Keep it up! ♥️💪♥️💪♥️💪

[@xqs329]

Esteban is a lad who feels hard done by life and believes that he has to fight for everything in life and rightly so.

[@daarom3472]

then he's absolutely delusional. Net worth of 21M and an annual salary of 6M.

[@flopre9213]

@@daarom3472 he worked for that though. he earned his money

[@tombardsley3081]

@@daarom3472what makes it delusional? He didn’t have sponsors or a team pay for his junior career. He lost his force india seat to a combination of Checo’s money and nepotism from Stroll

[@Redlingstein]

He feels he NEEDS TO GIVE 100% Always cos his parents sacrificed EVERYTHING for his racing career. Sold their house, lived in a caravan… he feels he OWS them …

[@daarom3472]

@@tombardsley3081 if you feel hard done by while earning 180x the average salary in Western countries you are delusional. Hence I don't buy it.

[@Banyo__]

I had a co-worker like Esteban, who grew up with nothing, always had to fight for everything being on the back foot. They see it as a means to survive because IT IS what has gotten them as far as it has. They don't know a world where they can relax and just smile and things work out. They know a world of scrapping and fighting tooth and nail for everything, with nothing ever being handed to them. They see every little thing as a slight towards them and an obstacle to be overcome with their own might and this can be really really annoying to those around them, because everything in life isn't a fight. Some people are really genuine and honest and want to help, but if you're like I got this, I can do it on my own, I've never needed anyone's help sort of vibes, you can look and potentially act like an a--hole to others and not notice it on your end, because in the end, you're getting those results with your might and fight. Now I don't know crap about Esteban, so I don't presume to know him or how he acts, that's stupid, but it's often very telling when seemingly everyone around you fails to get along with you. Can it really ever be "everyone else" is the problem when there is a marked pattern there or you see those teammates going on to get along well enough with other teammates.

[@PeterTeal77]

It's definitely a self-fulfilling prophesy sometimes with people like that. Oh you don't get the same opportunities as your peers and have to do everything by yourself? Maybe it's because people don't like working with assholes.

[@sheeshman9713]

The thing is, Ocon isn't in that "do or die" situation anymore. But he still acts like it and it just makes him come across as an asshole.

[@jaivinbhavsar4315]

I agree with you... And I feel he should change that attitude but just imagine that guy had the same mentality for more than half of his life it must be really difficult to change once it settled in there for so long... And also he is still not regarded as high as Gasly which he should be.. and now due to this there is a quite high chance that he will lose that seat and ones which he will get will most prob be some backmarkers.. which lets be honest is not pretty great

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

He has no money and sponsors. He can lose his seat any time. What are you saying... Currently the only reason why he still has a seat rn is because he's arguably one of Alpines best options and because he's french. He's not a pay driver or a champion, his seat is never safe.

[@galaxlordcz3933]

@@F1ll1nTh3BlanksDoing what he does to teammates is detrimental to him at this point, there's a difference hard racing and being an asshole, if your teammate is faster than you and you know that, you might as well be the team player and let them through, battling Fernando tootht and nail when he ends up ahead of you anyway is unnecesary.

[@georgthesecond]

You just had to watch the last couple minutes of the video to not make such a comment.

[@sheeshman9713]

@@F1ll1nTh3Blanks What are you yapping about? Alpine wanted to sideline Piastri for another year and didn't want to give Alonso more than 1 year extension on his contract. They could have had Alonso and Piastri driving for them in 2023 but Alpine chose Ocon over Alonso and Piastri. His seat was never under threat.

[@fareedtulbah1606]

This video has aged well.

[@superxavxii421]

Ive recently been conflicted with him a bit. On one hand, he is very aggressive but thats just a result of how hard him and his family worked to get where he is. I will always appreciate a driver who comes from a humble beginning

[@yvettey-ep7gn]

Thank you for doing this video Tommo ,I really like Esteban and also impressed by his story ,and I think it is not fair for him to get so much hate , he is literally a talented driver and a nice guy if you try to pay more attention on his daily behave instead of just caring about those stupid media commentary

[@eaglesrobbie1969]

The comparison between Max and Ocon in F3 is like RB versus Stake. Where Ocon had the premium car and Max the glued together Van Amersfoort racing car.

[@MajieB]

Man this aged like milk after Monaco.

[@mariano1428]

He's an old school driver who has found himself in the wrong side of this "let's do marketing out of everything" era. Unfortunately, he's too deep in now to change his image. His results will determine how much longer he stays. Btw, if he was better perceived by the F1 world, I'm 90% sure he'd be Hamilton's replacement in Merc

[@remcoasselbergs3298]

As far as i know, jos poured all his money into max. Pretty similar story. Although jos had connections with f1, that was the headstart.

[@drbreitling4833]

At this point Ocon has nobody but himself to blame for not having a sponsorship backing which would make it easier to get into seats at other teams. He has been in the game for a long time. With Alonso’s help he even got a GP victory. If he can’t convince sponsors to back him maybe he should put a little more work into that. You don’t have to be the always smiling Danny ric type to build a fanbase and marketing value. Even Kimi had sponsors run after him. Even though it seemed like he actively tried to avoid any media duties as much as he possibly could

[@banovsky]

Do you REALLY think Max could have quit racing as a Jr and he wouldn’t have been beaten & left for dead in a ditch by Jos? Doubtful.

[@missashleymacmacmac]

it’s wild how he should be endearing and yet manages to be off-putting

[@anubislee36]

5:20 lol i dont know Jos personally, but there is no shot max had the "option" of quitting. You dont get that good at anything without a healthy dose of abuse

[@daxtr5]

The "boop" sound for every image is a bit irritating.

[@ALB0026]

Nah gta san andreas vibes is goat

[@pierre.wallstroem]

A bit? He should be given an award for "Stupidest decision ever made by video editor". "Hey, you kno wha? mah veddjos ah faain noyn uh lissn uh sins ah ant ariculay alf eh alphabuh, leh meh urn ih uh ah noch!" Tommo, welcome to the "never recommend this channel again" bin.

[@someonebetter12]

More than a bit. I had to give up watching halfway through.

[@dco1019]

I would say something.. but I see that everybody already cut this piece down 😂

[@lukemccauley1480]

thanks for bringing back gran turismo music

[@gavinBsussex]

Trouble is Max is a generational talent and Ocon is a decent driver at best.

[@EntropicExergy]

Talent of the century, Lauda said, have to correct you there.

[@kizzagt]

Pretty certain one of the teams in question was Mclaren Tommo as I swear Zak Brown said he was inquirying about Ocon in 2018 as Alonso was leaving and Vandoone was dropped, so they needed 2 drivers.

[@TommoOnYoutube]

Could well be!

[@kizzagt]

@@TommoOnKZbin I could be gravely mistaken on this so take this with a grain of salt.

[@niuage]

Good video, I learned a bunch about Ocon.

[@rossevers]

It’s very interesting to hear everything that Esteban has gone through, for sure helps me understand him a little better, but I can’t stop thinking about this quote “ Your attitude, not your aptitude,. will determine your altitude ”

[@renanbautista6222]

Ocon is a very good driver. Put him in a better car and he will compete. Would love to see him teamed up with Russell next year with Hamilton going to Ferrari.

[@naddinp]

What'a up with this mega annoying noise every time a background picture is changed?

[@wardieleppan8443]

Many thanks for this. He is one of the very few drivers that did not come from a wealthy background. Lewis and possibly Seb are the only ones that I can think of. Love to see you do a video on how those that came from similar backgrounds

[@jonahdelahunty209]

Ocon nearly had a 2019 contract with Renault, but that was before they realised they could sign Ricciardo so he couldn’t get it. And he’s been in the record saying that he was close to a Mercedes drive for 2019 replacing Bottas.

[@GinoLaMainFroide]

I've heard the Mercedes story for 2020 not 2019 (Bottas had a strong start to 2018, he only crumbled after re-signing). There were rumors that Toto wanted him in the seat, but Mercedes higher-ups were full on "don't fix what ain't broke" mentality.

[@FormulaMarius]

Esteban is and will always be my favorite driver, I realy hope he gets a competetive car anytime soon Thanks for this Great video!

[@freyalove3831]

Ocon isn't going anywhere besides Alpines. No one will work with him. Mark my words.

[@gabrielrascol3101]

This video is a masterpiece, congrats tommo, great job

[@Greatgoku4]

Gran turismo 7 sound clip used

[@chilibeer3912]

I want Ocon to do well and I hope he matures into the driver he needs to be to survive. I think if he can settle into a team that can offer him longer term stability he can become the driver many of us think he is.

[@aaronmachado13]

I’ve seen it in motocross most my life, unlike a Stroll, Lando or Verstappen who come from a family who’s financially well off. Ocon at a young age had to become the provider of his family and viewed 2nd place as “ taking money away from feeding my family”. I’ve heard motocross champions say “ it gets to a point you’re not doing it for the love of the sport but rather the unbearable feeling of letting your parents down”. You can point to so many times where Ocon finally had stability just to get brought back to the fighting he had to do. When you’re raised like that it’s impossible to turn it off cause it’s almost acts like trauma knowing you can be sidelined like 2019 even if the results are there.

[@Artois2011]

Precisely. Well said! 👏👏👏👏

[@eduardobehnke6561]

I noticed the PS1 Gran Turismo reference. Brought back some memories. Thanks.

[@generaldreagonlps6889]

It makes sense him and Stroll are friends. They are both somewhat outcasts on the grid although basically for opposite reasons.

[@fbi0529]

Don't forget Mick aswell. Mick and Esteban have been on vacation together multiple times now. One thing combines both: needing to succeed. For Mick, it's because of his father, for Esteban, it's because of the sacrifices his parents had made

[@thesnackbandit]

I mean at least Stroll and Ocon are actually good drivers eh? Mick was probably one of the worst rookies along with Mazepin in many years.@@fbi0529

[@beefconnection9997]

Thank you. I'm French. It's nice stick up for Esteban. I have lot of respect for his achievement. And the sport needs to have these kind of characters. For a good story you need a good bady...👍🇫🇷🇬🇧

[@Franky46Boy]

The relation between Max and Esteban has improved over the last few years. When Max did win his third championship last year and Esteban Ocon was inteviewed about it, Esteban talked with respect about the difficult years Max and Jos had in those karting days he shared with them: "I know the sacrifices they made then". I had tears in my eyes and I guess Max had too when he heard Esteban talk like that...

[@Franky46Boy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3rCqYqEp5xkm5I

[@janklas7079]

The biggest issuewith Ocon is that Ocon thinks he's way better than he actually is. He doesn't even come close to Max.

[@sapphirekennedy]

Esteban Ocon is the Ross Chastain of F1. Had to scrap SO hard to get to where he got that that’s the only way he knows how to drive- balls out, me-first, and screw everyone else. But when you make it to the big time, it’s a whole other way of operating, and he struggles switching gears

[@lewisburt3750]

I like him. Hes funny, a good driver capable of great races and overtakes. Needs to tone it down in battles with teamates when its happened also i think he should leave Alpine to see how he really does. Aston Martin or Mercedes are the 2 main teams i see taking him if they hav a open seat if there's no better options.

[@thatpersonthatguy]

I don’t see any team looking at him seriously. Not top teams. He’s well known to be a bad teammate when racing in the midfield. If it is for a championship, I can see him going nuclear.

[@gunnarmh]

Wait.. do you always use the GTA V sound effect when swapping between photos?

[@mikimooooooo]

I think Ocon gets along with Stroll because in a way, they both have chips on their shoulders. Ocon with how hard he's had to fight for his position within F1 and the uncertainty, and Stroll for always being in his dad's shadow and maybe feels unable to be his own person.

[@petersmith6678]

I dunno, I quite like Ocon tbh.

[@rejguon2378]

Love esteban what a guy

[@MrNanoPlankton]

Now we not only have a Frenchman blaming others - hahahaha

[@miguelgosling7072]

Great video dude!!!

[@SwiftEscudo]

bruh what is that audio at the start, headphone users beware

[@artpereira]

Dude, that transition sound you used in this video kept making me think my Photoshop was giving me warning sounds! I was freaking out! Please don't use it again.

[@Uzair_Of_Babylon465]

Great video keep it up you're doing amazing things 😁😄

[@vishalmatam]

Ocon's beginnings are very much like Schumacher's. Not born to riches. Even Schumacher drove with used tyres during karting days, in rain with no grip from the tyres. No wonder he eventually became the regenmeister. Respect for Ocon. Ocon needs to get an opportunity with a top team, it'll be interesting to see.

[@chiseledmedal2634]

this changed how I view Esteban, like yeah he can be an ass but he does it because of a survival-like mindset so i kinda get why he is the way he is. I now feel a sense "damn he's gone through hell to get here, and i respect that"

[@Nolitaflat]

This was a great video. Not a lot of people want to look at things from Ocon's POV and as a huge fan of him who staunchly defends him, I really appreciate this one. I appreciate that someone else can see what I can other than "bad french man in pink race suit intentionally crashes teammate and deserves to lose his seat".

[@thomasjacobus]

Love the content, but is it possible to take the little sound that happens every time a picture appears on the screen? It is very distracting when you are just listening.

[@doctorno1516]

Toto said they had agreed for a seat at McLaren. There were even talks of him having a seat fit to move to the team in mid-2018 to replace Vandoorne, but then they signed Sainz.

[@Voldnarok]

in Formula 3 Ocon was champion yes but Max was the best driver on the grid even Ocon knows that deep down if he don't want to act blind! Ocon was on the best team/best car, Max raced for two teams the first team was a midfield team and Max had tons of mechanical problems DNS and retirements. And when they actually raced wheel to wheel Max put Ocon on his pocket all the time! Every resume we see of this formula 3 season we can clearly see Max was a different calibre of driver!

[@akhila2521]

Great video Tommo Gives a clear insight on a perspective that most people wouldn't consider when looking at Ocon and his racing style

[@Artois2011]

Well said! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@BenKuyt64]

Looking at the personal lives of Ocon and Stroll, it feels weird cause they're best friends. There's numerous interviews where they both say it, so I wonder how that friendship was effected by Stroll going to Racing Point. Who knows.

[@321-Gone]

sound effects bad

[@EbyanAden]

Esteban has shown that he is one of the most capable drivers on the grid. Give him a good car and I'd say he'd be on Carlos Sainz's level

[@rimartinez452]

great video. Many times I myself have been critical of Esteban but there's a reason. Don't forget Checo had the same reputation in he's early years and even when he was Esteban's teammate

[@romanbdk6952]

0:02 damn man, i thought my earphones broke 😂

[@sheldoniusRex]

Alright Tommo, you've convinced me. I now have a new respect for Esteban.

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

If you think Jos was a millionaire just because he was an F1 driver, you are very much mistaken. He was at times a pay driver, or at least had his pay boosted by sponsorship, and he was pretty much always the #2 in the team. He and Max had to drive to (usually) Italy from the Netherlands after school on Friday in a van (I think from the descriptions, it was essentially a transit van, but I could be mistaken and it could have been a caravan or similar. I always stand to be corrected). He would be reusing kart tyres in much the same way Ocon described, except they just used his own tyres until they virtually fell apart! It's one of the reasons why he's so good in the rain. Don't mistake the above for me being a Max fangirl (I stopped being one of those when Damon retired), I'm 100% neutral. May the best team/driver win and all that (though being a Brit I'm always pleased for the underdog when they do well, including Alpine!) I just think that people have a rose-coloured view of Max's rise to F1. It was Dietrich Mateschitz who spotted Max's talent, btw, and he urged Marko to sign him up. He said so when Max won in Austria for the first time in a brief chat with Channel 4. Marko didn't need much persuasion.