Esteban Ocon declares ‘I don’t deserve this’ after Haas F1 announcement
Esteban Ocon insists he's not finished in F1.
SEPANG – A defiant Esteban Ocon insists he is far from done in Formula 1 after losing his drive with Haas for 2027.
It was confirmed during the week that Ocon will not continue with Haas beyond the current campaign, as first reported by PlanetF1.com during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.
Esteban Ocon insists ‘I deserve to be here’ after Haas future confirmed
Ocon faces an uncertain future with only Racing Bulls and Haas yet to confirm their driver pairings.
With the Racing Bulls expected to retain Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad for F1 2027, and Haas’ decision to part ways with Ocon, the Frenchman’s prospects are bleak.
However, he remains defiant and insists that he will not look outside of F1 for a drive next season.
“My focus is on Formula 1. That is clear, that’s where I belong, that’s where I want to be,” he told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media in Sepang.
“I’m not going to look elsewhere. That’s very clear.”
While the driver market is largely settled, Ocon suggests that opportunities remain though he wouldn’t be drawn on what those might be.
The most obvious move for the 30-year-old is to move into a reserve driver role, keeping himself in the window for a return to the grid in 2028, just as he did when he sat out 2019.
“You never know what can happen in Formula 1. Things move every two seconds, so I’m still working on trying to find a solution for next year,” he said.
He added: “There are still hopes, and hopes is what motivates me to stay on track, which is good; it’s what motivates me to do the results I did in the last couple of races; it’s what keeps me together.”
“It’s not a 2019 yet,” he continued.
“I don’t want to feel 2019 again. If I have to, I will, but as I said, you never know what can happen in Formula 1.
“There can be opportunities to come, don’t write me off yet.”
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The situation has left the one-time grand prix winner frustrated, stating that the reason for his exit from Haas was “not performance”.
“It is frustrating because it’s not really the way it should be,” he insisted.
“I’m not going to go into detail in what happens in the past; I’m looking ahead, I’m looking at the future.
“But, I mean, I deserve to be here. I put the hard work [in], we benefitted from finding out all these issues very early since I joined the team. It has been very, very good for everyone.
“So, of course, I don’t think I deserve to have this for the future, but there’s opportunities all the time in Formula 1 and that’s what I’m looking at, looking at the future, not the past.
“I’ve always had to fight super hard in Formula 1 for everything I had,” he added.
“I’ve always had tough moments, people pulling me lower than the ground, digging my hole, but I’ve always shown that, with resilience, hard work, and motivation, I can overcome those moments.
“That’s what I will keep doing.”
Haas is yet to announce Ocon’s replacement, with F2’s Rafa Camara thought to be the front runner for the seat.
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