Ocon fights for Haas future: “The drivers are not the problem”

– Esteban Ocon apparently does not see his future in Formula 1 at Haas as secure. Despite his fluctuating performances against teammate Oliver Bearman, the Frenchman rejects responsibility for the team’s difficult season. Ocon emphasizes: The problems lie with the car, not the drivers.

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Haas is struggling with inconsistent performance of its car parts. Even the aerodynamic updates introduced at the Italian Grand Prix have not completely solved this problem, although Ocon described the innovations as “positive.” For him, it is crucial that the car does not work the same every weekend and sometimes not even on both sides of the garage.

“This is something we have been struggling with so far this season,” says Ocon. “Ayao, Ollie, and I are very aware of this. When we get the cars into a condition where they can work, then we as drivers deliver as well.”

Ocon points to different problems

Ocon illustrates the difference particularly clearly based on the past race weekend. While Bearman had a car that worked as expected there, that was not the case on Ocon’s side. In Budapest, the situation was exactly the opposite.

“Ollie had a car last week that delivered what we expected. On my side, it was not like that. But in Budapest, for example, it was quite different; there he struggled with these difficulties,” explains Ocon.

The biggest problem is starting a race weekend without any performance deficit at all. “That is our full focus at this stage: trying not to have these problems already at the beginning of the weekend and just working normally with the car.” Once you are chasing a deficit, the situation becomes difficult.

Despite the weak position in the field, Ocon has recently seen progress. Haas reached Q2 three times in a row. Although it was not enough for Q3, Ocon is convinced that he has gotten everything out of the available material.

“I got the maximum out”

“Of course, it is not the result we want. We need more performance to be able to fight for points,” says Ocon. At the same time, it is a certain satisfaction for him to know that nothing more could have been extracted from the existing car.

“I got the maximum out of the car that I could and left nothing on the track,” emphasizes the Frenchman. Now the team has to work on eliminating the next performance problems.

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Ocon also sees the positive work of the team. The difficult development does not change the fact that Haas has done good work in recent races. “We have to keep going,” is his clear motto.

Haas tests alternatives – Ocon remains calm

The situation is also tense because Ocon’s future has been considered uncertain for months. Haas tested several possible successors two weeks ago in Portimao in an older Formula 1 car: reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, McLaren reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, and Ferrari junior Rafael Camara.

However, Ocon does not attach excessive importance to these tests. It is basically clear that Haas may try other drivers. The team has a corresponding test program that is important for the team and also generates income.

Meanwhile, talks about his future are ongoing. “Of course, we have been having talks about the future in recent weeks,” says Ocon. He has been convinced of Ayao Komatsu’s project since 2025 and therefore must first talk to Haas. These talks are currently taking place.

But for Ocon, a different message is crucial: “It is clear that the drivers within the team are not the problem. We all pull together in the same direction to get more out of the car. And Ollie and I deliver when we have a car with which we can do that.”

For the Frenchman, the work on the track is currently what counts most. “At the moment, I am only focusing on getting the maximum out of what we can do, fixing the car’s problems, getting to know this new track, and hopefully achieving good results.”

His future at Haas thus remains open. However, Ocon makes it clear that he does not see the responsibility for the current situation with himself or Bearman.

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