Esteban Ocon to Depart Haas at End of F1 Season, Future Uncertain

Haas has announced that Esteban Ocon will leave the team at the end of the current Formula 1 season, leaving the French driver's future in the sport in doubt. Ocon, who joined Haas for the 2025 season, has been competing in Formula 1 since 2016, previously driving for Manor and Force India.

Despite the uncertainty and a lack of obvious seats available on the 2027 grid, Ocon stated, "This is absolutely not the end of my Formula 1 career." He added in a social media statement, "I leave this project with my head held high and proud of my performances in what were not always the easiest of circumstances for various reasons and factors outside of my control."

Ocon emphasized his immediate focus remains on the upcoming race weekends. "My immediate focus is the next race weekend. I will continue to work hard with the team, maximise every opportunity, and keep extracting every bit of performance from the car," he said. "There are still many races to go this season and, as always, I will give it my everything behind the wheel for myself and for my team. I am still motivated. I am still hungry."

Since partnering with Haas, Ocon has been outperformed by his teammate, Oliver Bearman. This season, Bearman holds 13th place in the championship, 13 points and three positions ahead of Ocon. In qualifying sessions, Bearman has consistently outpaced Ocon, holding an 13-6 advantage with an average gap of 0.144 seconds. Last season, Bearman finished 13th and Ocon 15th, separated by only three points, with Bearman holding an 18-7 qualifying advantage at 0.175 seconds.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu acknowledged Ocon's contributions, stating, "Esteban's professionalism and commitment have proved valuable as we continue to grow as an organisation. Together this year we tackled the challenge of a major regulation change, where Esteban's driving experience and inputs were significant as we've worked hard to develop the VF-26 across the season."