Esteban Ocon meets Anthony Mackie ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, creating an exciting moment for the F1 driver and Marvel fans alike. The meeting took place during the Hungaroring weekend, where Ocon, currently driving for Haas, expressed his admiration for the American actor famed for his role as Sam Wilson in Marvel’s Captain America series.
Haas F1 shared a video of this memorable interaction on social media platform X, capturing Ocon’s delight as he met Mackie. The Marvel star and the F1 driver exchanged friendly words, highlighting Ocon’s respect for Mackie’s work as well as the actor’s enthusiasm for Formula 1.
Conversation Between Esteban Ocon and Anthony Mackie
The exchange between Ocon and Mackie revealed the mutual admiration between the two personalities. Ocon began the conversation by admitting his excitement:
“I’m a huge fan. A bit nervous.”
Mackie responded warmly:
“This guy, nice to meet you.”
Ocon welcomed Mackie to the Hungarian home track, saying:
“Welcome, welcome to our home. Good to see you man, I’m a huge fan.”
Mackie then shared his own appreciation for Ocon’s achievements:
“No, I’m a huge fan. I was telling him, I was like, I think he won here in 2022. They were like, no, 2021.”
Ocon confirmed the victory and asked Mackie about his familiarity with F1:
“Yes, I won here. Very good point. So you were watching F1 back then or?”
Mackie concluded by revealing his long-standing fandom:
“I’ve been an F1 fan since… Back in the day. Before you were even born.”
Ocon’s win at the Hungaroring occurred in 2021 while driving for Alpine, where he denied Lewis Hamilton to secure the first and only victory of his career so far. At that time, he was teammate to Fernando Alonso.
Ocon’s Reflection on a Tough Qualifying Session at the Hungaroring
Despite the excitement of meeting Anthony Mackie, Esteban Ocon faced a challenging qualifying session, finishing in 18th position for Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring. Speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying, Ocon expressed disappointment about his performance.
“It was a disappointing session really, especially after that lap, I was expecting more. We need to investigate exactly why, as in Spa we were performing well, but here after FP1 we’ve struggled quite a lot to have decent performance.”
“It shouldn’t be the case, but I was happy with my performance and my lap. It’s disappointing to be that far down the order, so we need to give it a better shot of understanding and getting a read on the issue,”
he added honestly.
Meanwhile, Ocon’s teammate Oliver Bearman qualified 11th, narrowly missing out on advancing to Q3 by just 0.007 seconds behind Gabriel Bortoleto. This indicates Haas’s potential to improve results during race day.
Current Standings and Outlook for Haas and Ocon
Esteban Ocon is currently placed tenth in the Drivers’ Championship, holding 27 points after thirteen races and three sprint events. Oliver Bearman sits in eighteenth with eight points, reflecting his rookie status and gradual progress. Haas ranks ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, accumulating 35 points thus far this season.
The chance to meet Anthony Mackie provided a morale boost for Ocon ahead of the Hungarian GP, despite recent setbacks in qualifying. With ongoing investigations into their performance issues at the Hungaroring, Haas and Ocon aim to find solutions for a stronger race day showing and improved championship positions going forward.