Haas F1 2027 driver decision looms as ‘discussions’ take place

Haas has begun discussions over its F1 2027 line-up, with Esteban Ocon confirming talks over his future are now taking place.

Ocon’s future at Haas has been the subject of rumours this season, all of which have been denied by the driver and the team.

Esteban Ocon explains why Haas is testing other drivers

Unfounded stories circulated on social media after the Miami Grand Prix claiming that Ocon had fallen out with his Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.

It led to speculation that Ocon was on borrowed time, so much so that he would not see out the F1 2026 season with Haas.

Komatsu labelled the stories “absolute bulls**t”, while Ocon insisted that it was “all fabricated”.

That did little to stop the whispers that Ocon’s seat was on the line, with the Frenchman scoring just three points to his teammate Oliver Bearman’s 18.

The rumours flared up when Haas tested three drivers – reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, 2025 Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli and current F2 title contender Rafael Camara – at Portimão in a TPC [Testing of Previous Car] outing late last month.

The team will also test its reserve driver Jack Doohan after the Spanish Grand Prix. Haas will head to Jerez for a two-day TPC, with the Australian being joined by Ryo Hirakawa and 2024 Super Formula Champion Sho Tsuboi.

Ocon, confirming he is speaking with Komatsu about F1 2027, brushed aside the speculation about his race seat.

“Yes, we are having discussions, obviously, regarding the future in these recent weeks,” he told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media in Madrid.

“I’ve been convinced to come for this project with Ayao since 2025 and, of course, the first discussion needs to happen with this team, and they are happening right now.

“But, yes, the team is allowed to test other drivers if they want.

“We have a TPC programme that’s very important to us. It’s also some kind of revenue for us.

“But it is clear that inside the team the drivers are not the problem.

“We are all pushing together in the same direction to try and get more out of the car. And myself and Ollie, when we have the car to perform, we do.

“And at the moment, that’s all I’m focused about, is to get the maximum of what we can do, fix the issues of the car, learn this new track and hopefully have good results.”

Go deeper: Esteban Ocon Alpine contract

F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2026 grid?

F1 2027 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2027 grid?

Ocon had previously stated when questioned in Montreal about his deficit to Bearman in the standings that the people working with him at Haas, including Komatsu, understood why he was trailing his teammate.

The Frenchman touched on that in Madrid, revealing Haas is suffering with inconsistency with its VF-26.

“This is something that we’ve faced so far this season,” he explained. “Myself and Ollie are very aware of that.

“When we’ve got the cars to a healthy state where they can perform, we perform as drivers. Ollie last week had a car that was delivering what we were expecting and, on my side, it wasn’t.

“But that was very different in Budapest, for example, where he faced these difficulties.

“So, we are aware of these things and this is our full focus at this stage, to try and not have these issues, to start the weekend just working normally with the car.

“It gets difficult once you are running after a deficit, let’s say, in terms of performance. And, yes, that’s the situation we are in.

“But that doesn’t take away all the good work that the team has done in the recent races. It’s been three Q2s in a row.

“Of course, it’s not Q3, but I feel like I’ve extracted the maximum out of the car that I could and, yes, I mean, there was nothing left on the table. So, it’s not the result that we want.

“We, of course, need more performance to be fighting in the points, but it’s still a satisfaction to say, ‘Okay, that was the car we had. We got the maximum out of what it could do, now we need to work on this and that’.

“That’s what we are doing, and I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job on our side recently, so we need to keep going.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: Jack Doohan handed Haas F1 chance as 2027 seat decision looms