Esteban Ocon has rejected the notion that his Formula 1 career is over. The Frenchman officially parted ways with Haas ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, ending his two-season spell with the American-owned team. The announcement came before the race weekend, sparking speculation about his future on the 2027 grid.
While reluctant to discuss the circumstances behind Haas' decision, Ocon made clear his frustration at finding himself in that position. "It is frustrating because it's not really the way it should be," he said. "I'm not going to go into detail about what happens in the past. I'm looking ahead, I'm looking at the future. That's what's important, but I deserve to be here. I put in the hard work."
Ocon believes his contribution since arriving from Alpine played an important role in helping Haas overcome a number of problems with its cars. Those difficulties affected the team across much of his time there, although its form has become more consistent during the latter part of this season. Haas scored with both cars in Azerbaijan, while Ocon also pointed to the team's performance in Madrid as evidence of the progress made behind the scenes.
"I'm coming out of this project with my head high," said Ocon. "I think I've done and I've contributed to a lot of great things for this team. I think finding out problems was one of the big ones. We did, very early on last year, find a lot of issues – and this is benefitting everyone now to have healthier cars, and we start to see the benefit of me finding these issues very early on. It's thanks to that that we got double points, for example, last week and that we had two cars working super well in Madrid. We are starting to see the good results of all of that. I'm not looking at the past once again, not going to give reasons or talk about it, I'm just looking at what's to come in the future and hopefully more good results like those ones."
The 30-year-old stressed that continuing to perform on track was now the strongest argument he could make for remaining on the grid. "We've done pretty well at the last races, and for me, that's the best way to show that I still deserve to be in F1," he said. "Of course, I need the car that follows, which we didn't have for many, many races, including last year. If we have that, it should work, as it did in Baku, as it did in Madrid. We'll see."
Ocon first entered F1 with Manor midway through 2016 and has since claimed one grand prix victory at Hungary in 2021 along with three other podium finishes. He has also already experienced a season without a race seat, spending 2019 as a Mercedes reserve before returning with Renault. That experience gave him perspective on the ups and downs of an F1 career.
With few realistic openings remaining on the 2027 grid, Ocon must make the most of any opportunity that arises. His performances in the remaining races will serve as a crucial audition. Haas itself is undergoing a rebuild, and Ocon's departure marks a new chapter for the team. Meanwhile, Ocon is determined to prove he still has a place on the grid, hoping a team will give him a chance.
"There are opportunities all the time in F1, and that's what I'm looking at, looking at the future, not the past," he concluded. That statement is a clear signal that Ocon is not ready to close the book on his career in the pinnacle of motorsport just yet.
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