You might've seen that, based on the latest trailer for the upcoming blockbuster "F1", Esteban Ocon has at least one pivotal scene, colliding with Brad Pitt’s character at Abu Dhabi. But before that movie arrives this summer, the French driver has quietly made his big screen debut in a slightly smaller project: with a cameo role in Netflix romcom “Lune de Miel avec ma Mère” (“Honeymoon Crasher” for those who failed French 101), which arrived on the streamer this past week. For those keeping tabs, that means Ocon now has as many IMDB filmography credits as Formula 1 podiums.
The movie revolves around Lucas, a young man left at the altar by his then-fiancée, Élodie, for a suspiciously Esteban-Ocon-like guy named Damien, played by Ocon.
Much like in “F1,” Ocon’s role is the root of the onscreen chaos. Not to spoil the plot, but it’s Damien who breaks up the couple by calling Élodie during her wedding reception. She runs outside and jumps into Ocon’s Alpine A110 car — some solid product placement.
Later, Élodie Facetimes her ex from Damien’s work — where it turns out Ocon’s Damien is (get this) an F1 driver for Alpine. Lucas had been under the impression Damien was a car mechanic. (Ocon’s got some comedic timing: when Élodie tells his character that it’s Lucas on the phone, he responds in French, “Ouch, that sucks, poor guy.”)
Eagle-eyed F1 fans will note that although a screen on the garage says they’re at Monaco, the grandstands identify the track as the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Later Élodie reveals that they’re going to the Miami Grand Prix the following weekend, so in this mythical universe there’s been a bit of calendar reshuffling.
Ocon’s Damien disappears for the rest of the film, other than showing up in some selfies with Élodie that make Lucas jealous.
Ocon’s presence in this movie was a sudden surprise: Netflix France posted an Instagram story on 13 February, which the driver shared and said (in French): “So, it seems that you saw me in a certain trailer a few days ago. So yes, it was me, I played in a new film on Netflix, it's called ‘Lune de Miel avec ma Mère’ and it's already available.”
Ocon’s cinematic debut comes ahead of his season debut with new team Haas, alongside Oliver Bearman. Why Ocon's stayed fairly mum about the movie is anyone’s guess, though it’s likely that his presence as an Alpine driver doesn’t entirely line up with his new team’s PR plan.
