Esteban Ocon: Haas driver to leave team at end of 2026 F1 season after two years with American-owned squad
Esteban Ocon looks set to be without a drive for the 2027 Formula 1 season; the Frenchman will leave Haas after joining from Alpine for the 2025 season; watch Formula 1's return to Malaysia from Friday morning live on Sky Sports F1 as Sepang hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix
Wednesday 30 September 2026 10:08, UK
Esteban Ocon will leave Haas at the end of the 2026 Formula 1 season, both driver and team have confirmed.
Confirmation of the Ocon's exit came on Wednesday morning after months of speculation over the 30-year-old Frenchman's future with the team.
Along with confirming Ocon's departure, Haas said that there would be no imminent news on his replacement, despite reports that Brazilian Ferrari junior Rafael Camara has been lined up to partner Britain's Oliver Bearman next season.
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Ocon wrote on social media: "My time with Haas F1 Team will come to an end at the end of the 2026 season.
"I leave this project with my head held high and proud of my performances in what were not always the easiest of circumstances for various reasons and factors outside of my control."
Ocon joined Haas from Alpine for the 2025 season but has been outperformed by 21-year-old Bearman across their two campaigns together.
The gap in performance between the pair has only increased in 2026, with Bearman 13th in the Drivers' Championship on 20 points and Ocon 16th on seven points. Bearman also holds a 10-4 head-to-head advantage over Ocon in qualifying this season.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said: "I'd like to thank Esteban for everything he's contributed to the team since joining us in 2025.
"His professionalism and commitment have proved valuable as we continue to grow as an organisation. Together this year we tackled the challenge of a major regulation change, where Esteban's driving experience and inputs were significant as we've worked hard to develop the VF-26 across the season.
"There's still plenty of racing ahead, and our focus remains on working together to maximise every opportunity through to the final race of the year."
'This is not the end of my F1 career'
The timing of the announcement, with just eight rounds of the 2026 season remaining, means Ocon is highly likely to be without an F1 seat next year.
With few clear openings elsewhere, the Frenchman may have to settle for a reserve driver role in 2027, but he remains adamant he will return to the grid before long.
"My immediate focus is the next race weekend," Ocon added. "I will continue to work hard with the team, maximise every opportunity, and keep extracting every bit of performance from the car.
"There are still many races to go this season and, as always, I will give it my everything behind the wheel for myself and for my team.
"I am still motivated. I am still hungry. This is absolutely not the end of my Formula 1 career."
It's not the first time in Ocon's career that he's been left without a seat. He served as Mercedes reserve driver in 2019 after being let go by Force India [which would become Racing Point and then Aston Martin].
Ocon returned to the grid with Renault in 2020 and would spend five seasons with the team, which later rebranded as Alpine, and claimed his sole grand prix victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
His best result for Haas came in just his second race with the team, when he finished fifth at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. His best result of 2026 came on Sunday, when he claimed eighth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Haas appear likely to line up with two Ferrari juniors in 2027, with both Bearman and Ocon's expected replacement Camara contracted to the Italian team, which supplies Haas with its power units.
Camara, 21, currently leads the Formula 2 championship by seven points with two rounds remaining.
Formula 1 heads to Malaysia for the first time since 2017 as it hosts the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit - watch live coverage from Friday morning, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
