A Controversial Exit and a “Marmite” Reputation
It appears that Esteban Ocon’s Formula One career is under threat. He announced prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that he was a “free agent,” although, embarrassingly, team boss Ayao Komatsu denied this a day later at the FIA team principal’s conference.
The Frenchman hijacking the team’s formal announcement is typical of Ocon and an indication as to why he is a “marmite” style character in the paddock—some love him, others despise him. During his time as Fernando Alonso’s teammate at Alpine, the pair repeatedly clashed, fighting over the same piece of asphalt.
The politically astute Spanish double world champion came to refer to Ocon over team radio as “our friend” in sarcastic fashion. Such were the intra-team tensions that when Sebastian Vettel decided to retire, Alonso jumped at the chance to leave Alpine to replace the German driver at Aston Martin.
Limited Lifelines on the 2027 Grid
Esteban’s only hope of remaining on the grid for 2027 rests with Cadillac. Their driver pairing of Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas sees the Mexican ahead in terms of Grand Prix finishes this season, although, as is the norm when signing the pair, the US-owned team suggested both had multi-year contracts.
This has become a standard term used in F1 when a driver signs a contract, although there are most often clauses which mean either party can conclude the arrangement after just one season. Ocon is not the worst off of the F1 drivers on the current grid, but probably struggles to be ranked in the top 15 despite his claim that he deserves the right to be in F1.
A Hard-Fought Rise Through the Ranks
Coming from a working-class family in Normandy, Ocon fought his way to F1 on merit alone. He won back-to-back European F3 and GP3 titles—even finishing ahead of Max Verstappen—before finding his way in 2016 into the soon-to-be-defunct Manor Racing F1 team.
A year prior to this, Mercedes had signed the Frenchman to their junior driver programme, and Toto Wolff described Ocon as “mega-talented,” adding he would be “watching [his] progress with a lot of interest.” For 2017, Esteban signed for Mercedes customer team Force India, where he joined Sergio Pérez.
His time with the Silverstone-based team would last just two years. At the Singapore Grand Prix in 2018, Ocon collided with his teammate on lap one, with the result that the Frenchman hit the wall and was forced to retire from the race. Yet it was the financial troubles of Force India which would put paid to this era of his F1 career as the team became insolvent and changed hands at the end of 2018.
Missed Opportunities and Recurring Tensions
Esteban had to sit out the 2019 season, although he retained the role of Mercedes test and reserve driver. The biggest miss of his career came in 2020, when it was widely rumoured that Mercedes were to replace Valtteri Bottas with the promising young French driver.
However, behind the scenes, Lewis Hamilton fought to retain his Finnish teammate given he had been operating as his wingman, and Ocon would likely try to challenge Hamilton’s status as number-one driver. Spells at Renault/Alpine and Haas F1 have seen repeats of Ocon’s alleged hot-headedness. A needless crash into his teammate Pierre Gasly at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix after the race had been red-flagged caused his team boss to melt down on French TV. Ocon announced he was leaving Alpine two weeks later.
Ocon Defends His Performance at Haas
With Haas F1 having confirmed Ocon’s departure, the French driver was in demand during the media day for the upcoming race weekend. When asked if inconsistent performances this season had led to the split with Haas F1, Ocon said: “No, I don’t think that has anything to do with that. I’ve just been doing my job trying to get the cars to where they should be, and at the end of the day, it has benefited everyone in the team because we see the result of the hard work that we’ve put in and me pointing the fingers at the current issues.”
The problem for Esteban is that he currently has fewer points when compared to his junior teammate Ollie Bearman. Yet behind this headline lies the fact that Bearman was the beneficiary of some fortune at round two in China, where he picked up points in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix.
When asked for what he believed to be the reason for Haas F1’s decision to let him go, Ocon was candid: “Again, I don’t have any further to comment really on this,” he said. “Looking ahead, not in the past. I’m not going to comment on the reasons or what could be. I know the reasons. I’m not going to share them. But the reasons are not performance, that’s clear.”
Financial Realities and the F2 Pipeline
So if they are not performance, what are they? Well, given his lowly background, Ocon has never brought huge sums of money to the F1 teams he has raced for. Add to this that Haas F1 has historically faced strict budget constraints near the cost cap spending limit.
Waiting in the background is the current leader of the F2 racing series, Rafael Câmara, a Ferrari junior driver the Scuderia is keen to get into F1. As a Ferrari engine customer, accepting Câmara could see the team receive a healthy boost in finances from the Italians along with significant financial backing from commercial entities in Brazil, from where he hails.
For a team like Haas, it is indeed a risk to ditch an experienced driver who can assist them with the development of the car in favor of a rookie like Bearman, who is yet to complete his second full year in F1. Yet Haas has been here before. They ditched Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean for rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin—who brought huge amounts of financial backing. This is the reason Ocon is hinting at.
The following season, Haas F1 dropped to last place and failed to score a single point. Although this time at least Bearman is more of a proven entity, he is still not at the level of Ocon, who on his day is extremely fast and a Grand Prix winner.
Can Ocon Make a Comeback?
Can Ocon find his way back into F1? History would suggest it is possible. It happened for Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Pérez, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, and briefly for Yuki Tsunoda—a number of whom were not performing at the level Ocon is presently.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
