Haas drops Esteban Ocon for the rest of the 2026 season
Haas has permanently dropped Esteban Ocon from its Formula 1 team, and he will not race for the team again this year. The team said he will "no longer compete on its behalf in the 2026 world championship", according to the BBC.
Team principal Ayao Komatsu, the boss of the team, said the decision is "firmly in the best interest of the team moving forward."
Ocon was stood down on Saturday morning at the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, a Japanese driver who was set to make his Formula 1 race debut, took his place. A reserve is a driver on standby who steps in when a team needs a replacement. The BBC reports the move followed a row between Ocon and Komatsu after Friday practice. Reuters reports that Ocon denied that any physical violence led to him being sidelined.
The exit was not a surprise in one sense. In late September, Haas announced that Ocon and the team would part ways at the end of the 2026 season. Haas thanked him for his contribution at the time. What has changed is the timing. He is now out of the car before the season ends.
Ocon has said his goal is to stay in Formula 1 after leaving Haas. In an earlier interview, he told fans not to write him off.
Haas will now turn to a new face for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Brazilian rookie Rafael Camara will replace Ocon at the race, which is a first step for a driver who is new to the top level of the sport. Haas has also signed Camara for 2027. For Brazilian fans, that means a local driver will be in a Haas car at the Sao Paulo race, with a longer contract already in place.
The 2026 season is Haas's eleventh in Formula 1. Ocon's last race for the team was the United States Grand Prix, where he finished 14th. His team-mate Oliver Bearman retired from that race.
This is a team rebuilding its driver line-up mid-season, and the changes are now public. Haas has not said how it plans to fill the rest of the year beyond the Sao Paulo race. The next few rounds will show how the new line-up performs, and how the team's points picture looks as the championship nears its end.
