Esteban Ocon to leave Haas as F1 2027 replacement emerges

Esteban Ocon has been informed that he will not race for Haas in F1 2027, PlanetF1.com has learned.

The French driver will be a “free agent” on the driver market for next season, with Haas taking a different direction on the driver front.

Esteban Ocon set to leave Haas for F1 2027 season

Ocon will not form part of Haas’ F1 race driver line-up in 2027, with the French driver having been told of the team’s decision for next season on the eve of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

One of the final pieces of the F1 driver market, Ocon’s seat at Haas has been uncertain for some time in the face of pressure from rookie drivers such as the Ferrari-backed Rafa Camara, and the Toyota-backed Ryo Hirakawa.

PlanetF1.com has learned that Haas has now made its decision for F1 2027, with Ocon set to be dropped from the line-up with Camara expected to be promoted from Formula 2 in his stead.

The line-up is yet to be confirmed by Haas, but the combination of Camara alongside Oliver Bearman would mean both drivers are part of the Ferrari driver academy.

Factors such as commercial considerations, as well as Ferrari’s backing of Camara, are said to be amongst those influencing the decision to part with Ocon.

Ocon trails Bearman by 15 points, 18-3, after the Spanish Grand Prix, although it must be noted that season-long inconsistencies in terms of car performance, by way of components on the VF-26, have affected Ocon to a greater extent than Bearman.

“At the moment, I’m definitely a free agent for next year,” Ocon told media including PlanetF1.com on Wednesday in Azerbaijan.

“There are things in discussion that are out of my control. There are certain topics that are out of my control. So, I will keep pushing until the end of the year and see how it goes.”

Sources have indicated that the partnership between Ocon and Haas is set to remain amicable and professional to the end.

Uncertain future for Esteban Ocon

Ocon’s immediate future is unclear: the only remaining seat on the grid is at Racing Bulls, but Red Bull is almost certainly set to stick with its existing driver line-up of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, while Nikola Tsolov waits in the wings for an opportunity.

Given the difficulties that have struck Ocon’s side of the garage this season, issues which have sapped the driver’s confidence behind the wheel, the Frenchman said on Wednesday he isn’t confident that he will have the best equipment possible under him to be able to perform at his best.

Pointing to how he almost scored points in Madrid, following on from the team’s most recent points in Monaco, Ocon said that he’s taken solace in the fact that he knows when the car is working beneath him, he believes he is delivering to its ultimate potential.

“There’s been a lot of times where I’ve performed when the car was underperforming, so that’s been clear,” he said.

“There are chances that we go into this race [Baku] and we have similar problems as we had in Monza or that we had earlier in the year.

Esteban Ocon vs Oliver Bearman: Haas head-to-head stats for F1 2026 season

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“But I’m confident that whatever car I got, I will get 100 per cent out of it.

“If you take Madrid, the car was healthy from the start of the weekend to the end, and we knew that we were going to be fighting for a good one. The target was to get two Audis at the start. The strategy told me it’s very important that we get both Audis. Took the start, I delivered.

“I overtook both Audis, and we won the point scoring position. Now, if we had a similar inconsistency to, you know, Monza or some of the races, it would have been a disastrous weekend.

“The last three of four were good, but I was happy with my performance. Also in Monza, it’s just that the car had an issue with load, it was not delivering what it was supposed to. But it’s been better lately, and I’m happy with how we’ve worked with the team.”

While Camara is said to be the driver in line to take over Ocon’s seat, other considerations include Japanese drivers Ryo Hirakawa and Sho Tsunoi, both of whom are backed by Haas’ technical partner Toyota Gazoo Racing, while former Alpine driver Jack Doohan is said to have become a late consideration following an impressive outing in a TPC [Testing of Previous Cars] at Jerez last week.

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