I don't know if Pierre is from a 'rich' family, but it does seem like they were able to get sponsorship and make the necessary connections.
He discusses the school in the first few minutes of this interview (). Sounds like his parents didn't want him to go as he was the youngest by a long way in a family of 5 boys.
The whole Esteban thing is pretty sad. Though I guess if they wanted to be friends, they could work through it or get therapy. Lol. In any interview I've listened to or watched with Esteban, he always comes across as such a sweetheart (to me!). Like in today's Beyond the Grid when he talks about crying at the Australian GP when he was the Mercedes test driver in 2019. In an earlier Beyond the Grid from years ago, Pierre discusses Esteban and jokes that he sounds like he's talking about a girlfriend when detailing the breakdown of their relationship.
