– Esteban Ocon faces an important future decision at Haas. While the US racing team is already testing several candidates for the second cockpit alongside Oliver Bearman, the Frenchman is fighting to keep his place in 2027. Ocon himself sees his position much less critically than the current results might suggest.
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The Haas driver has had few opportunities this season to fully exploit the potential of his VF-26. After a strong start to the season for the team, Haas fell behind in the development race. At the same time, according to Ocon, massive fluctuations between the individual cars, sessions, and race weekends have made it difficult to assess the actual performance of the drivers.
Now the situation is becoming even more tense for Ocon: Haas is looking for alternatives. Jack Doohan, the team’s reserve driver since the start of the season, will get a TPC test in Jerez after the Madrid Grand Prix. This opportunity could be Doohan’s application for the second Haas cockpit for 2027.
Ocon is aware of this—and yet remains demonstratively calm.
Ocon: “We are not the problem”
“I am always motivated,” Ocon explains when asked about rumors of other drivers. Haas has every right to test other drivers. After all, the TPC program is also a business for the team and brings in additional revenue.
At the same time, the Frenchman makes it unmistakably clear how he assesses the situation: “As the team knows and as Ayao has very clearly said, the drivers are not the problem at the moment.”
With that, Ocon directs the focus to the car. The difficulties are not due to him or Bearman being unable to unlock the potential of the Haas. Rather, the team still has no explanation as to why the car sometimes behaves completely differently with identical components.
“If we get the car that works, then we will perform and get the maximum out of it,” says Ocon. The problem is the lack of consistency. For the Frenchman, this is particularly frustrating because the results do not provide a fair picture of his own performance.
A Haas car that suddenly changes
Ocon gives a concrete example from Spa. His car initially had a good balance there. After an engine change, the car was suddenly completely different—even though the gearbox and other components remained the same. “I drive the first lap and the car is completely different,” he reports.
The team then tried to counteract with setup changes. But the problems persisted: massive instability and lack of grip at the rear axle. During analysis, Haas finally found, according to Ocon, that about ten points of downforce were missing at the rear.
“Ten points are a lot of kilograms of downforce,” explains the Frenchman. Especially with the current cars, such a difference cannot simply be compensated for by setup.
In qualifying, you can at least complete a single lap with such a car. In the race, however, the situation becomes a “nightmare” because you wear out the tires much more and may even need an additional pit stop.
According to Ocon, the problems are therefore not just a difference between two poorly or well-made parts. Sometimes the behavior of the car changes even though basically the same components are used.
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Ocon does not see himself as the loser in the Haas duel
The difficult technology also makes it complicated to fairly compare Ocon and Bearman. Team principal Ayao Komatsu has already admitted that the inconsistency of the VF-26 makes evaluating the two drivers difficult.
On paper, however, the situation does not look particularly good for Ocon. Bearman has beaten him significantly more often in qualifying so far, and the Briton is also ahead in points. In the first half of the season, Haas was also unable to build on the strong start overall.
Ocon therefore points to the races where his car actually worked. “I know I do a good job when I get the car that normally works,” he says. The team, his engineers, and also Komatsu know that he can deliver performance then.
Ocon cites Suzuka, Silverstone, and Budapest as examples. These three events were the only races this year where his car worked at a normal level for him. “I am satisfied with my performance,” he emphasizes. “But of course, we have to get better on the car side.”
Doohan gets his big application chance
That Haas is still testing other drivers increases the pressure on Ocon. Particularly interesting is the deployment of Jack Doohan. The Australian came to Haas as a reserve driver after his early exit at Alpine and continues to pursue the goal of returning to Formula 1 in 2027.
Now he is getting his own TPC test in Jerez after the Madrid Grand Prix. This deployment is seen as a concrete opportunity to recommend himself for the Haas cockpit alongside Bearman. However, Doohan is not the only candidate.
Haas has already tested Leonardo Fornaroli, and Rafael Câmara is also among the possible drivers. Fornaroli is considered a particularly interesting young talent after his Formula 2 title and has already received a TPC deployment in Jerez. For Ocon, this means: his place is by no means automatically secure.
At the same time, the Frenchman does not believe that a driver change would solve the team’s current problems. That is exactly why he finds the tests understandable but surprising with a view to 2027. “If these tests are meant for next year, that would be surprising,” says Ocon.
Haas does not want to simply postpone technical problems to 2027
Meanwhile, team principal Ayao Komatsu confirms that Haas does not want to simply write off the current weak phase and focus exclusively on 2027. The team must first understand and solve the fundamental problems of the VF-26.
“We have to prove that we can identify the crucial problems, solve them, and then implement them on the car,” explains Komatsu. Simply shifting the focus to the next regulations would be the wrong way for him. Because otherwise, unresolved problems would just be carried over into the next season.
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Komatsu sees Haas as fundamentally well positioned. In the past two years, the team has proven that it can develop a car. The exceptionally strong start to the 2026 season also showed what potential is available. However, after that, Haas had to concede defeat in the development race to the competition. Now it is about learning from the mistakes.
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