Esteban Ocon to leave Haas after 2026 Formula 1 season

Esteban Ocon will leave Haas at the end of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the team announced on September 30. The decision leaves a seat to fill for 2027 and Ocon’s next drive unconfirmed. Haas did not give a reason for the split or name a replacement in its statement.

Ocon joined Haas for the 2025 championship. Team principal Ayao Komatsu thanked the French driver for his contribution and said Haas would keep working with him through the final race of this season. The announcement ends their partnership after two seasons, while leaving the team’s remaining 2026 races to run.

What Haas and Ocon said about the split

Komatsu credited Ocon’s professionalism and commitment. He said Ocon’s experience and input had been significant as Haas developed its VF-26 car during a season of major regulation changes. The team’s statement offered thanks and a commitment to finish the year together, but no explanation of why it had decided to part ways with him.

Ocon said in a statement reported by BBC Sport that he would leave the project proud of his performances, despite what he called difficult circumstances and factors outside his control. He did not specify those factors in the remarks quoted by the BBC. His comments therefore give his view of the experience, without establishing a cause for the separation.

Ocon’s record and the Haas teammate comparison

Haas says Ocon has made 39 race starts for the team. It gives his career record as 195 starts and 490 points, including his victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. BBC Sport says he has raced in Formula 1 since 2016, with earlier spells at Manor and Force India, and has four career podium finishes. Those figures show the experience Haas highlighted when thanking him for his work on the car.

BBC Sport reported that teammate Oliver Bearman was 13th in the 2026 drivers’ championship at the time of its report, three places and 13 points ahead of Ocon. It also reported that Bearman had led their qualifying comparison 13–6 this year, with an average advantage of 0.144 seconds. Those are measures of their results, but Haas has not cited them as its reason for the decision.

The BBC’s comparison for 2025 showed Bearman finishing 13th and Ocon 15th in the championship, separated by three points. Bearman led their qualifying comparison 18–7, with an average advantage of 0.175 seconds, according to the broadcaster. AS separately reported that Ocon’s best finish for Haas was fifth place in China in 2025. The team’s announcement did not assess his results against Bearman’s.

Who will take the Haas seat in 2027?

The decision follows a period of uncertainty about Haas’s 2027 lineup. On September 24, Formula 1 reported Komatsu saying the team had completed its driver evaluations but had not made a final decision. He expected an announcement within a couple of weeks. That account was published before Haas confirmed Ocon’s departure; the September 30 statement settles his position with the team but does not identify who will take the seat.

In the September 24 report, Ocon described himself as a free agent for next year. Formula 1 also reported that Haas had assessed Leonardo Fornaroli, Rafael Camara, Jack Doohan and Ryo Hirakawa. Their assessment does not amount to a confirmed appointment, and the team has not announced a successor. Ocon’s insistence that he wants to remain in Formula 1 likewise does not establish where he will race.

For now, the confirmed timetable is limited: Ocon and Haas will continue together until the 2026 championship ends, and then part ways. The September 30 statement answers when the partnership will finish, while leaving the reason, the replacement and Ocon’s next move unstated. Any later lineup announcement will need to be assessed on its own terms.