According to veteran Formula One reporter, Brazilian Julianne Cerasoli, Esteban Ocon’s days at Haas F1 could be numbered. Such is the tension between him and team principal Ayao Komatsu, the French driver could be on his way out of the sport mid-season.
Ocon is widely regarded as one of the most enigmatic and polarising figures on the modern Formula 1 grid. On the one hand, he is an undeniably fast, resilient, and deeply committed Grand Prix winner who clawed his way into F1 with zero family wealth. On the other hand, he has earned a reputation as one of the most notoriously difficult drivers for a team—and particularly a teammate—to manage.
An Uncompromising Racing Philosophy
The “difficult” label attached to Ocon doesn’t usually stem from him throwing tantrums in the garage or being lazy with engineers. Instead, his reputation is defined by an uncompromising, ultra-aggressive racing philosophy that repeatedly pushes intra-team relationships past the breaking point.
In Formula 1, your teammate is your primary benchmark, but standard racing etiquette dictates that you do not jeopardise the team’s overall points haul by colliding with each other. Ocon has repeatedly violated this unwritten rule. Throughout his career, he has treated his teammates not as partners, but as mortal enemies to be beaten at all costs—even if it ruins the entire team’s race.
Force India and Alpine Friction
Whilst partnering Sergio Perez at Force India (2017-18) the pair had multiple on-track collisions, most notably at Spa and Baku, forcing team management to implement strict “rules of engagement” that banned them from racing each other.
Then when Ocon was the teammate to F1’s elder statesman driver, Fernando Alonso, (Alpine 2021-22) the initial harmonious partnership dissolved into bitter public acrimony. Ocon’s hyper-aggressive defense against Alonso at Jeddah and Hungary—and a costly collision at the 2022 Brazil Sprint race—left Alonso furious and publicly criticising Ocon’s spatial awareness.
Yet rather than rant about his teammate, Fernando Alonso developed a sardonic reference for Ocon whenever he spoke of the Frenchman over team radio. Chuckling, the double world champion would refer to him as “our friend” to his race engineer.
The Monaco Breaking Point
The incident which finished his time at Alpine in abrupt fashion, occurred at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix with then teammate and childhood friend Pierre Gasly. With the race having been red flagged on lap one, coming out of Portier, Ocon launched an attack on Gasly one place ahead, only to misjudge the closing speeds and damage his car beyond repair.
This incident in Monaco was yet another example of Ocon prioritising his personal finishing position over the strategic commands of his pit wall. First up he ignored the red flag instruction then secondly Alpine team boss Bruno Famin had issued strict instructions to his drivers who lined up astern on the grid – not to attack each other on the opening lap.
The usually mild mannered Famin was live on French TV when the incident happened and his choice of words revealed his fury at Ocon. A literal translation from French is as follows: “It’s sad to see this kind of incident. It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see. Esteban’s attack was totally out of place [inappropriate given the circumstances]… It was exactly what we didn’t want to see, and we are going to draw the consequences. We are going to cut to the chase / take drastic action [literally: ‘cut into the flesh’].”
A Working-Class “Survivor” Mentality
Within two weeks, Ocon and the Alpine team agreed to part company at the end of the season. To understand why Ocon is difficult, you have to understand his background. Unlike many modern F1 drivers who come from immense wealth, Ocon’s working-class family famously sold their house and lived out of a caravan to fund his karting career.
This background forged an incredibly fierce “survivor” mentality. In Ocon’s mind, if he gives an inch on track—even to a teammate—he risks losing everything. While this ruthless edge makes him an exceptional qualifier and an elite defender against rival teams, it makes him an incredibly volatile individual. He struggles to switch off the “me vs. the world” mindset for the greater good of the constructor paying his salary.
Outperformed by a Rookie
Having joined Haas F1 in 2025 after his Alpine ‘dismissal,’ Ocon was faced with a rookie teammate in Oliver Bearman – someone he would have expected to easily overcome. British driver Bearman had debuted for Ferrari the previous season whilst operating as their reserve driver. The occasion was the sudden affliction to Carlos Sainz of appendicitis during the weekend of the Saudi Grand Prix.
Bearman qualified just outside the top ten and drove a remarkable race to finish in P7. It was this result which afforded him the opportunity with Haas F1 for 2025. He bested Ocon in Grand Prix qualifying that year 13-11 and finished 12-12 in terms of positions in the Grand Prix. Not bad for a rookie – or maybe not good for a driver with Ocon’s experience.
This season to date the tally so far is 3-1 and 3-1 in favour of Bearman. Clearly this will be an embarrassment for Esteban Ocon who behind the scenes is causing friction within the team. Bearman has scored all but one of Haas F1’s 18 points this season, something his French teammate will not have taken kindly to.
Breakdown of the Haas Dynamic
Respected Brazilian F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli sparked major paddock discussion following her recent report for UOL Esporte regarding Esteban Ocon’s precarious future at Haas. According to Cerasoli, Ocon’s relationship with Team Principal Ayao Komatsu has completely broken down, putting the Frenchman’s seat under threat before the 2026 season even reaches its halfway point.
Cerasoli bluntly outlined the harsh reality of the dynamic at Haas, revealing that the team boss has lost patience with the driver. “Ayao Komatsu doesn’t like Ocon. He clearly doesn’t like him, and he’s not happy with his current performance. In fact, I’ve heard that he’s not sure if Ocon will be able to compete until the end of the season. So, to put it bluntly, Ocon’s current situation is not good at all,” she claims.
Potential Mid-Season Replacements
Even in pre-season testing, there were signs of the tension between Komatsu and Ocon when the Haas team boss declared the team “expected more from him.” Cerasoli reports that Haas is seriously contemplating dropping him during the current campaign if a viable mid-season replacement can be arranged.
Likely candidates for Haas would be reserve driver Jack Doohan – who had just five races in 2025 to prove himself at Alpine as a rookie. Another option would be Ryo Hirakawa who completed an FP1 session for Haas F1 in Bahrain last season having switched from Alpine due to his strong ties with Toyota.
Conclusion: A Driver at the Crossroads
The mounting tension at Haas highlights the recurring paradox of Esteban Ocon’s career: the fierce survival instinct that brought him to F1 remains both his greatest asset and his ultimate liability. While his uncompromising edge makes him a formidable racer, it repeatedly strains the team cohesion required by modern constructors.
Now, history is repeating itself. Having lost his Alpine seat after clashing with his teammate, Ocon is facing a similar crisis at Haas. Falling behind a rookie teammate like Oliver Bearman while alienating his team principal has left him highly vulnerable. If Ocon cannot quickly reconcile his “me-against-the-world” approach with the strategic needs of his team, his Haas tenure and F1 career may be cut short—potentially cementing a reputation that the modern paddock is no longer willing to accommodate.
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Since I posted at length in the previous article, I’ll go shorter here:
Again, zero foundation, both on the fallout & replacing in-season, unless confirmed by the team or reported by AMuS, & basing on the points situation is misleading since it doesn’t reflect the full picture, & only totally flopping would lead him to lose his drive, especially given the absence of definitively superior options, with only Camara & Beganovic ones that could realistically be comparatively better options to any extent.
He’d definitely end up without a drive for next season, though, as staying put at Haas is the only way he could compete in F1 next season at all.