Esteban Ocon confirmed his departure from the Haas F1 Team at the end of the 2026 season. The French driver revealed the same in the last week of September. When Ocon was questioned about his racing future, he remained defiant, suggesting that his plans are to race in F1 only for the coming years.
Ocon joined the Haas F1 team ahead of the 2025 season, and after just two seasons with the American team, he’s currently left without a team for the 2027 season. With just seven races left in the 2026 season, and all the teams except for Racing Bulls confirming their seats, it is unlikely that the Frenchman will get a full time drive for 2027.
Esteban Ocon was questioned ahead of the 2026 Singapore GP about his racing future plans, and whether he will be racing in another series. However, he remained defiant, seeing his future in F1. He said,
“F1. That’s where I deserve to be, if I look at the results and what I’ve shown in F1. I deserve to be in F1. Of course, there are other categories which are fantastic as well. But I want to be racing in F1 for the next five to seven years. That’s where I want to be, so I will keep pushing to be in that position. In the near future, that’s the only thing I’m looking at so far.”
Many F1 drivers like Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson moved to racing in IndyCar after their F1 career. However, Ocon is persistent in staying in F1, even if it means continuing in a third driver role for the upcoming season. Detailing the same, he added
“If there are no possibilities to race next year, that’s what I will do. I’m still working on it, still discussing. When I have more news I will announce something definitely, but at the moment, full focus is on this weekend.”
Oliver Bearman ready to take the team leader role following Esteban Ocon’s departure
Esteban Ocon has been the senior driver at Haas since joining the team in 2025, as Oliver Bearman joined the team as a rookie. However, with the Frenchman’s tenure coming to an end, Bearman is ready to take the role of the team leader, as he said,
“It’s the first time I’ve been in that situation so in that sense, I learned a lot from Esteban. That’s been really useful for me. There’s no doubt about his speed. He’s shown that on many occasions.”
“It’s a shame to see, but I’m looking forward to coming into a new role maybe within the team as the leader, being the most experienced driver within the team potentially. In that sense, I think it’s a good opportunity for me to continue to learn,” added Bearman.
Esteban Ocon is no stranger to being in the third driver role, as he signed with Mercedes as the reserve for the 2019 season after Lance Stroll replaced him at Racing Point. In 2020, Ocon signed with Renault (now Alpine) and continued his F1 career.
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