Esteban Ocon’s rocky marriage with Haas is over. The French driver and the American outfit confirmed on Wednesday that he will depart at the end of the 2026 Formula One season, bringing down the curtain on a difficult two-year spell marred by complaints, intra-team tension and underwhelming results.
The 30-year-old joined Haas from Alpine ahead of the 2025 campaign, teaming up with British rookie Oliver Bearman in what was billed as an experienced hand guiding a promising youngster. Instead, it’s been the rookie who has consistently outperformed the veteran, a dynamic that has fuelled mounting speculation about Ocon’s future in recent months.
That speculation ended with Ocon’s announcement on Wednesday, though the Frenchman made clear this is a departure, not a retirement.
“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.”
Complaints and coded criticism
Those “various reasons and factors” had become increasingly public in recent months. Ocon complained openly about his car’s performance and dropped heavy hints that Bearman was receiving preferential treatment within the team.
Being outpaced by a rookie teammate doesn’t help morale. Ocon currently sits 16th in the drivers’ standings with just seven points, three places behind Bearman, a damning indictment of his struggles to extract performance from the Haas machinery.
Across 39 grands prix with the American team, Ocon has managed 12 points finishes, with his best result a fifth-place finish in China last year. They’re respectable numbers, but hardly the return Haas would have hoped for when they signed a driver who won the Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine in 2021.
Still hungry
Despite the difficulties, Ocon insisted he remains determined to continue in Formula One and extract maximum performance from the car for the remainder of the season.
“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.
“I am still motivated. I am still hungry. This is absolutely not the end of my Formula 1 career.”
Those words suggest Ocon is actively seeking a seat elsewhere on the grid for 2027. With several driver contracts up for renewal and mid-tier teams always looking for experienced hands, he may yet find a landing spot, though his stock has undeniably fallen during his Haas tenure.
Who replaces him?
Haas did not announce Ocon’s replacement, leaving the second seat alongside Bearman vacant for now. The team will have their pick of available talent, including promising Formula 2 graduates and experienced drivers looking for opportunities.
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The timing of the announcement, ahead of this weekend’s rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix, which will take place in Malaysia due to war in the Middle East, suggests Haas wanted clarity before the final stretch of the season.
For Ocon, it’s the end of a chapter he’ll likely prefer to forget. Joining Haas was meant to be a platform to rebuild his reputation after a sometimes fractious stint at Alpine. Instead, it’s become another difficult episode in a career that has never quite fulfilled its early promise.
At 30, he’s still young enough to resurrect his Formula One fortunes, but time is running out, and opportunities are scarce. His next move could define whether he remains on the grid long-term or becomes another cautionary tale of unfulfilled potential.
The hunger is still there, he insists. Now he just needs someone willing to feed it.
