Ocon to leave Haas putting F1 future in doubt

Esteban Ocon is set to leave Haas, casting doubt over his Formula 1 future after the team confirmed it will separate from the French driver at the end of the season. Ocon, who won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix for Alpine, signed with Haas for the 2025 campaign. He has competed in F1 since 2016 and previously raced for Manor and Force India. Although no clear seat appears available for him on the 2027 grid, Ocon insisted, “This is perfectly not the extremity of my Formula 1 career.” In a social‑media post he added, “I permission this task with my caput held precocious and arrogant of my performances successful what were not ever the easiest of circumstances for assorted reasons and factors extracurricular of my control.” He continued, “My contiguous absorption is the adjacent contention weekend. I volition proceed to enactment hard with the team, maximise each opportunity, and support extracting each spot of show from the car.” Ocon also said, “There are inactive galore races to spell this play and, arsenic always, I volition springiness it my everything down the instrumentality for myself and for my team.” He concluded, “I americium inactive motivated. I americium inactive hungry.” Since joining Haas last year, Ocon has been outperformed by teammate Oliver Bearman. In the current standings Bearman sits 13th, three positions and 13 points ahead of Ocon. Bearman has out‑qualified Ocon 13‑6 times, averaging a 0.144‑second advantage. Last season Bearman finished 13th and Ocon 15th, separated by just three points, while in qualifying Bearman led 18‑7 with an average margin of 0.175 seconds. Haas team principal Ayao Kumatso praised Ocon’s contribution, stating, “Esteban's professionalism and committedness person proved invaluable arsenic we proceed to turn arsenic an organisation.” He added, “Together this twelvemonth we tackled the situation of a large regularisation change, wherever Esteban's driving acquisition and inputs were important arsenic we've worked hard to make the VF-26 crossed the season.”