Both Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll will race on their birthday during the 2023 Formula 1 season. Ocon will race on his birthday at the Singapore Grand Prix, while Stroll celebrates his birthday at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Two drivers will race on their birthday during the 2023 Formula 1 season. Esteban Ocon will celebrate his 27th birthday at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, while Lance Stroll will race on his 25th birthday at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Singapore Grand Prix weekend will mark the 75th time that a driver has raced on their birthday in Formula 1. From the 74 previous occasions up to the end of the 2022 season, only two drivers have taken victory on their birthday. James Hunt was the first to do so at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, while Jean Alesi took the only win of his career on his birthday at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix.
In addition, four drivers have finished on the podium on their birthday: Chris Amon at the 1968 British Grand Prix, Carlos Pace at the 1974 United States Grand Prix, Carlos Reutemann at the 1981 Argentine Grand Prix and Rubens Barrichello at the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix.
2023 will be the 20th Formula 1 season in which multiple drivers will race on their birthday. It also happened last year.
Ocon turns 27 at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix
Esteban Ocon turns 27 on the day of the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit. Ocon has raced once previously on his birthday, also in Singapore, in 2017. He scored a point on that day, finishing in tenth place.
Ocon is the only driver to have raced on his birthday at Marina Bay Street Circuit and will do so for the second time in 2023. Two drivers have previously raced on their 27th birthdays – and both are Finnish. Heikki Kovalainen turned 27 at the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix and Valtteri Bottas did so at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix. While Bottas finished eighth for Williams at Spa on his 27th birthday, Kovalainen failed to finish the race.
Stroll celebrates his 25th birthday at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix
Like Ocon in Singapore, Lance Stroll is also the only driver to have previously raced on his birthday in Mexico. Stroll turned 19 on the day of the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix. He is the only driver to have partaken in a Grand Prix while celebrating a birthday under the age of 20.
Six drivers have previously raced on their 25th birthday – the most recent being Carlos Sainz at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix, a race in which the Spaniard retired on the opening lap. Nico Rosberg was the last driver to score points on his 25th birthday, doing so at the 2010 European Grand Prix. Chris Amon is the only other driver to pick up a point on his 25th birthday, having done so with a second place finish at the 1968 British Grand Prix.
Which other drivers celebrate their birthday on Grand Prix weekends in 2023?
Aside from Ocon and Stroll, Carlos Sainz is the only other driver who’ll celebrate his birthday over a Grand Prix weekend in 2023. The Spaniard will turn 29 on the Friday of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza.
Only three drivers will make F1 appearances on their birthday this year. That’s down from seven in 2022, when Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris all raced on their birthday. In addition, Daniel Ricciardo took part in Free Practice on his birthday at the 2022 British Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso did the same at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, as did Max Verstappen at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll took part in qualifying on his birthday at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
