Ocon: Mercedes "saved my life"

Force India's Esteban Ocon has opened up about his past and his rise to Formula One, as the Frenchman revealed that he didn't have much money growing up and that Mercedes financed him, essentially saving his life.

When Ocon first burst onto the F1 scene in 2016, he was the youngest French driver ever in F1 at the age of nineteen. He made his debut for Manor at the Belgian Grand Prix, and moved on to Force India in 2017. Getting there, however, wouldn't be possible if it weren't for Mercedes.

"Yes [Mercedes financed my career], it was not easy," Ocon told TF1.

"My family made a lot of sacrifices, my parents did not have a lot of money to make it happen.

"There were two key moments in my career.

"There was the moment when I was spotted by the Gravity Sport Management, which became Lotus F1 Team Junior after, and there was the second moment where I became European Formula 3 champion and I did not have a seat for the year after.

"In my head, I started to tell myself that I was going to work with my father on cars as a mechanic (his parents had a garage) or go to work in a restaurant as a waiter or whatever, for me it was over in my head."

Almost like in the movies, when things looked the worst for Esteban, he got helped out to make his dreams reality. Mercedes saw potential in him and decided to help Ocon out with his finances.

"I had a terrible winter, because for the junior classes you have to pay for your season, you are not paid yet when you ride in the junior category.

"But finally, I was lucky that Mercedes took me back and 'saved my life'."