Nasty rumours about Esteban Ocon/Haas: “I couldn’t care less”

In 2024, Esteban Ocon signed with the Haas racing team, in what teams these days refer to as a ‘multi-year deal’. The attitude seems to be: ‘We’re not going to tell you how long the contract lasts – there’s nothing to see here, please move along.’

There is talk of a two-year deal with an option for 2027. There is also talk that team owner Gene Haas and team principal Ayao Komatsu are considering not exercising this option.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks that Ocon is sidelining himself. The main reason: Ferrari protégé Oliver Bearman (21) is performing better in the World Championship; the Briton has scored 18 points from three points-scoring finishes and is currently eleventh, whilst Ocon has finished in the top ten twice and sits in 16th place in the World Championship with just three points.

Ocon’s lack of performance compared to Bearman is one thing; the emergence of another Ferrari driver is another. The 21-year-old Brazilian Rafael Camara clinched the 2025 F3 title and, thanks to his victory at the most recent F2 race in Barcelona, is currently third in that championship, just behind Gabriele Mini (from the Alpine junior programme) and Nikola Zolow (Red Bull Junior).

The thinking at Ferrari is this: should Camara become Formula 2 champion in 2026, the Italians want to see how he fares against Bearman in Formula 1. In the medium term, one of them would then be the logical successor to Lewis Hamilton as Charles Leclerc’s team-mate.

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Read more

TV program

Today

Budapest: Das Rennen Re-Live

FIA Formula One World Championship

26.07.2026 - 17:15

Back to Ocon. Clearly, the rumours surrounding a possible departure from Haas – the team that finished eighth in the World Championship in 2017 and 2022 – have not gone unnoticed. The driver with 187 Grand Prix wins to his name may be acting as if he doesn’t care about these speculations, but of course they strike a nerve. Judge for yourselves.

Speaking in the paddock at the Red Bull Ring, Ocon said: “I have the team’s trust, I have team principal Ayao’s trust. Didn’t we already talk about this in Canada? I’m staying focused on my tasks, I’m relaxed.”

“To be honest, I couldn’t care less about what people are saying. I just want to do my job here. The last few races haven’t gone as we’d hoped, but we’re working hard behind the scenes to turn things around. That’s all that matters.”

Japanese team principal Ayao Komatsu had already spoken out at the end of May about rumours that he’d fallen out with Ocon: “That’s absolute rubbish. Who’s putting that sort of thing out there? It’s pure fiction and really poor journalism.”