Esteban Ocon Pitches Cheaper Alternate to Karting to F1 Aspirants by Citing Lewis Hamilton’s Success Story

While motorsport might be one of the most popular sports in the world right now, there is a massive monetary barrier that stops many young children from getting into it. To start off, the grassroots of motorsport — karting — is incredibly expensive.

Esteban Ocon himself faced this huge hurdle when he was trying to make a career in motorsport. Since the Frenchman did not come from an affluent household, his family spent most of their savings to ensure that he was able to live his dreams.

With Ocon having seen the sacrifices his family made firsthand, he has explained what can be a cheaper alternative to karting. He made this revelation on the most recent episode of the Beyond the Grid podcast when host Tom Clarkson asked him if aspiring racers can take part in remote-controlled (RC) racing since karting was so expensive.

Ocon believes that RC racing can indeed be an option, as the 2025 grid already has two drivers who began their careers by taking part in it. The Haas driver revealed how both seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and current McLaren driver Oscar Piastri plied their trade in that discipline before moving into actual go-karts and cars.

“Exactly, he [Piastri] is Australian champion. Well, Lewis is the same. You know, he started with RC cars as well. It’s your eye and perceiving what the car does,” explained Ocon.

The former Alpine driver revealed that just like Hamilton and Piastri, he too is incredibly passionate about RC racing. As a matter of fact, the duo of Ocon and Hamilton also got to race RC cars together on track during the 2023 Japanese GP weekend.

And if one were to go into the archives, it was actually Hamilton‘s affinity with RC cars that helped his father, Anthony, identify his talent for real racing cars. Now, that story is left for history as the #44 driver has carved out a niche for himself as one of the greatest drivers to ever grace the storied rostrum of Formula 1.