A Haas team member once advised not to hire Esteban Ocon in Drive to Survive two years ago.
Haas’s surprising decision to drop Esteban Ocon has shaken up the F1 world. Ocon even had to come out and deny rumours about any violence in his disagreement with the team.
The French driver has stirred up controversy before, having clashes with several teammates and upsetting F1 bosses along the way. So, when a Haas staff member expressed doubts about hiring Ocon for 2025 on camera, it caught people’s attention, especially after recent events.
Everyone was shocked on Saturday morning when Haas announced that Ocon wouldn’t race for the rest of the Mexico City GP weekend. It seems unlikely he’ll return for the rest of the season, with the team’s short and sharp statement reflecting the unexpected move.
The statement read: “TGR Haas F1 Team reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon for the remainder of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix. Ryo drove in FP1 on Friday and finished 15th overall. He’ll join teammate Ollie Bearman for the final practice, qualifying, and the race — making his F1 debut. No further comments will be made at this time.”
This isn’t the first time Ocon has been dropped before a season ended. After a rough patch in 2024, he was replaced by Jack Doohan for the season finale. He’s had rocky relationships with teammates too, like Pierre Gasly at Alpine—once best friends but later rivals. They even crashed into each other during the 2024 Monaco GP, with the Alpine boss blaming Ocon for the incident.
Ocon also had clashes with Fernando Alonso, who criticized him after a crash in Brazil 2022, and with Sergio Perez during their time at Racing Point, where they had several on-track battles.
All these issues caused some worry at Haas when they looked for an experienced teammate for rookie Oliver Bearman in 2025. When Ocon was picked, some at the team weren’t sure he was the right fit, as shown on the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
One staff member asked, “Are you 100% sure Ocon is a good fit?” Team boss Ayao Komatsu replied confidently, “His work ethic is key. You can see he can race. I believe he was the best choice.”
Before joining Haas, Ocon had talks with Williams, but their boss James Vowles decided against him, saying Ocon wasn’t “a team player.”
Now, with Haas, Ocon has faced serious controversy at his third F1 team after Alpine and Racing Point. This might be the final chapter of his Formula 1 journey.