Haas reveals preferred 2027 driver line-up as Esteban Ocon faces mounting pressure in Formula 1 – With Formula 1’s annual ‘silly season’ approaching, early indications suggest that Haas would prefer to retain both Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman for the 2027 season.
However, recent comments from Ralf Schumacher have emerged amid mounting scrutiny of Ocon’s performances and renewed speculation about his long-term future with the American team.
Schumacher reveals Haas’ preferred scenario
Speaking on Sky Germany’s Backstage Pit Lane podcast ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher revealed that Haas would ideally like to continue with its current driver pairing.
“In a perfect world, the team would like to continue with both drivers,” he said.
The former Grand Prix winner explained that experienced drivers are hard to replace in the current Formula 1 market, especially since several teams are still evaluating their options for the next regulatory cycle in the sport.
He pointed to the difficulty of finding drivers who can combine experience, consistency, and technical feedback — factors that remain highly valued by teams preparing for the future.
However, Sky commentator Peter Hardenacke suggested that Haas are still considering alternatives.
“It seems they’re planning on two fronts,” Hardenacke noted during the discussion, citing knowledge that the Haas team are not hedging their bets that both drivers will continue on for next year.
Ocon under pressure after difficult start to 2026
Despite Haas’ apparent desire for stability, Ocon’s position has become a talking point following a challenging start to the season.
The Frenchman has scored just one championship point so far in 2026, while his teammate, Oliver Bearman, has continued to strengthen his reputation by accumulating 18 points and consistently outperforming his more experienced, and F1 race winning, colleague.
Bearman’s impressive form follows a strong rookie campaign in 2025, when he finished ahead of Ocon in the drivers’ standings.
These results have inevitably fuelled speculation that Haas could seek alternatives if the performance gap continues to widen. Further, Ocon’s stock in Haas had been hit somewhat in a controversial story a few weeks ago.
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Steiner predicts that Ocon could lose his Haas seat
Former Haas team principal Günther Steiner recently delivered perhaps the strongest criticism yet of Ocon’s current form.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast following the Canadian Grand Prix, Steiner said:
“I think he’ll be gone by the end of the year. He won’t be back next year. Look, how many laps was he down? Two laps, three laps.’
When asked whether Ocon could turn the situation around, Steiner remained unconvinced:
“If he doesn’t change something drastically, he won’t be there next year.”
Steiner’s comments came shortly after reports emerged suggesting there were internal tensions between Ocon and the Haas management team. The team strongly rejected these claims.
Komatsu dismissed the rumours as ‘absolute bullshit’
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu reacted forcefully when questioned about reports of a disagreement between himself and Ocon:
“I honestly don’t know where the story came from. No idea. There’s no foundation whatsoever; it’s absolute bullshit,” Komatsu said during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
“If someone wants to write that kind of nonsense, they’re welcome to it, but is that journalism? I have no idea. It’s terrible. What are they trying to achieve? It’s crazy. There’s no foundation whatsoever.”
Komatsu also denied reports that the pair had confronted each other in Miami.
“I didn’t have a single argument with Esteban in Miami,” he added.
These comments represent one of the strongest public denials from a team principal this season, and emphasise Haas’s desire to publicly support Ocon, despite the speculation.
Formula 1’s driver market is beginning to take shape
The Haas situation is one of several emerging storylines as the Formula 1 driver market starts to take shape.
This week, Ferrari confirmed a new agreement with Charles Leclerc. While the Scuderia has not officially disclosed the contract details, TJ13 understands that the arrangement is a continuation of Leclerc’s existing agreement until 2029, with improved financial terms reflecting the Monegasque driver’s performances and Ferrari’s confidence in the partnership.
As teams increasingly look towards 2027 and beyond, Haas appear keen to maintain continuity. One of the key questions heading into Formula 1’s traditional summer transfer window is whether Ocon can do enough during the remainder of 2026 to secure his place alongside Bearman.
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Alex Stanton is a Formula 1 journalist at TJ13 with a focus on the financial and commercial dynamics that underpin the sport. Alex contributes reporting and analysis on team ownership structures, sponsorship trends, and the evolving business model of Formula 1.
At TJ13, Alex covers topics including manufacturer investment, cost cap implications, and the strategic direction of teams navigating an increasingly complex financial environment. Alex’s work often examines how commercial decisions translate into on-track performance and long-term competitiveness.
With a strong interest in the intersection of sport and business, Alex provides context around Formula 1’s global growth, including media rights, expansion markets, and manufacturer influence.
Alex’s reporting aims to explain the financial realities behind headline stories, helping readers understand how money, governance, and strategy shape the competitive order in Formula 1.
Time Schumacher stopped stirring the pot he is Never going to get another F1 ride.
Who? Ralf?? He is kinda old right!
What both Ralf & Gunther failed to consider (& so have many others) is that the points tally doesn’t reflect the overall picture at all because Ocon has been struck by factors beyond his control more often than not this season, at least once in almost every single event so far, under which no driver can or could maximize opportunities, while Ollie’s run has been more or less issue-free all the way through.
Outright performance definitely hasn’t been an issue per se, especially in race trim, not to mention he’s also outperformed Ollie, for example, in Suzuka qualifying, Miami sprint, & Montreal sprint qualifying, while at other times, they’ve been roughly matched.
He’s simply been unlucky with the number of factors beyond his control, be that a deployment issue in Melbourne qualifying, followed by the VSC timing in the race, SC timing in both Shanghai & Suzuka, & an issue that affected his braking throughout the Canadian GP, nor did the strategy he received help matters either.
All these things considered, he hasn’t been as bad as the total points tally might suggest, & given that he hasn’t given strong justification to lose his drive at any point, combined with the absence of definitively superior options, he’s unlikely to lose his drive, unless he started to actually flop, which is unlikely.
Therefore, maintaining driver continuity seems plausible, especially since changing for the sake of changing & to an inferior option wouldn’t benefit them one bit.
Fair comments Jere, but tbh Ocon just seems more and more like a ‘journeyman’ racer these days, year he once won a GP (with the help of Alonso), but let’s be honest, hes’ solid but nothing special really – Alpine could probably do better