- Ocon’s seat at Haas under review, per Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli.
- Teammate Oliver Bearman leads Ocon 17 points to one after four rounds.
- Doohan, Tsunoda and Ferrari academy drivers wait in the wings.
Esteban Ocon may not see out the 2026 Formula 1 season with Haas. Brazilian F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli claimed this week that team principal Ayao Komatsu is dissatisfied with the Frenchman’s performances and that his place in the car is under review.
Her remarks, made on the UOL Esporte channel, have since spread across the paddock.
Ocon joined Haas at the start of 2025 after a difficult final year at Alpine. He is now 16th in the drivers’ standings with one point after four rounds, while teammate Oliver Bearman sits eighth with 17.
What the Brazilian journalist said
As reported by GrandPrix.com, Cerasoli’s comments were direct.
“Komatsu doesn’t like Ocon, he doesn’t like him very much, and he’s not happy with the driver’s performance,” she said on the programme. “I even heard that it was unclear whether Ocon would finish the season.”
She also said the gap between Bearman and Ocon had grown this year and that it was affecting the Frenchman’s standing within the team.
Reports of a falling-out between Ocon and Komatsu during the Miami weekend also circulated, though Cerasoli later addressed those claims specifically.
Writing on social media, she clarified that she had not reported any conflict at Miami.
“To avoid misinterpretation, I’ll clarify that I was talking about Rafa Camara’s move to Haas in 2027 and that Komatsu had already publicly criticised Ocon,” she wrote.
“I heard nothing about any conflict between them at the Miami round and made no comment on it.”
She stood by her broader reading of the situation, but pulled back from the Miami-specific claims.
The numbers driving the pressure on Ocon
The timing sheet offers the clearest picture of Ocon’s difficulties.
Bearman has outperformed him in both qualifying and race pace through the opening rounds of 2026, and the points gap between them is stark. A team fighting in the midfield cannot carry that imbalance for long.
Even in 2025, when their performances were closer, Bearman had the edge in qualifying, 13-11, and the two finished level on race results across the campaign.
That came in Bearman’s debut season against a driver who had competed at the top level for nearly a decade. The current season has made that comparison look considerably worse for Ocon.
The wider F1 landscape also matters here. Liam Lawson lost his Red Bull seat after just two races in 2025, replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Mid-season changes are no longer rare, and Haas would not be breaking new ground if they chose to act.
Who could replace Ocon?
Haas has several candidates available if they decide to make a change. Jack Doohan signed with the team as a test and reserve driver after Alpine dropped him. He would be the most straightforward choice for an immediate call-up.
Ryo Hirakawa has also appeared in multiple Friday practice sessions for the team and remains a possibility through his Toyota links.
Cerasoli pointed to Haas’s growing relationship with Toyota as a factor that could shape any replacement decision. Tsunoda’s name has also been connected to the team.
On the Ferrari side, Haas’s existing ties to the Scuderia open a different avenue, with Rafael Câmara, Dino Beganovic and Arthur Leclerc all making progress in F2 this year.
A pattern that keeps repeating
Ocon’s career has featured several moments where relationships inside a team broke down.
At Force India in 2017 and 2018, on-track collisions with Sergio Perez were frequent enough that management set formal rules banning the two from racing each other.
At Alpine, early promise with Fernando Alonso gave way to friction, including a clash at the 2022 Brazil Sprint race.
The sharpest break came at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. Ocon attacked teammate Pierre Gasly coming out of Portier after a red flag restart, misjudged the closing speeds and wrecked his car.
Alpine’s Bruno Famin, watching live on French television, called the move “totally out of place” and said the team would “take drastic action.” Ocon and Alpine agreed to separate within a fortnight.
At Haas, the same pressures appear to be building. A young teammate is outscoring him heavily. His team principal has reportedly run out of patience. Whether that leads to an early exit is still unclear, but the warning signs are familiar ones.
