Mystery surrounds Esteban Ocon’s fallout at Haas: just benched or sacked?

Stunned silence in the paddock at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez: on 31 October, Haas issued a terse statement announcing that regular driver Esteban Ocon would no longer be racing here in Mexico and would be replaced by Japanese reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa (32).

Initial speculation: Ocon had an upset stomach. This theory was quickly ruled out, as Haas promptly confirmed that the driver change had nothing to do with health reasons.

The fact is: the 30-year-old Frenchman Esteban Ocon has known since the end of September that he is no longer wanted at Haas. The 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix winner (with Alpine) is to be replaced for the coming season by Ferrari protégé and Formula 2 driver Rafael Camara.

We probed further in the paddock, but were met with an icy silence from Haas. At this stage, it is completely unclear whether Ocon has merely been sent to the penalty box ahead of his 199th Grand Prix – like an ice hockey player after a foul – or whether the 2017 and 2022 World Championship eighth-place finisher has been sacked.

Everyone at the Autódromo is asking: what on earth has happened?

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Ocon has a reputation for being awkward, difficult and stubborn. His driving talent is beyond question. His aggressive driving style – even against team-mates such as Sergio Pérez at Force India or Fernando Alonso at Alpine – is well documented. The Mexican and the Spaniard accused Ocon of underhand tactics and breaking his word. Esteban has always denied this. In this case, the principle of ‘in dubio pro reo’ applies.

Part of this reputation is unjustified anyway, as Ocon is also a hard worker, a team player and, when dealing with the media, the epitome of amiability.

It is possible that on Friday evening here in Mexico, a smouldering fire turned into a sudden burst of flame. During the second free practice session, Ocon was audibly dissatisfied with the tyre choice.

Esteban heard his race engineer, Laura Müller, say over the radio: “We’ve switched the run to medium-hard tyres with plenty of fuel, as Ollie’s struggling at the moment.”

Ocon: “But we’re still on the soft tyres, aren’t we?”

Müller: “No, we have to run on the medium-hard tyres.”

Ocon (audibly agitated): “No, no, I wanted the softs. Don’t do this to me, come on!”

Where the information ends, speculation begins: rumours are now doing the rounds in the paddock at the Mexican circuit that there may have been an argument during the post-session debrief at Haas.

It’s entirely conceivable that Ocon – a man who doesn’t mince his words – expressed his displeasure in no uncertain terms. It wouldn’t be the first time. It’s equally conceivable that team principal Ayao Komatsu wasn’t going to put up with it. Certainly not during a race weekend when team owner Gene Haas is present.

Haas has declined to comment on these matters.