A good weekend for Esteban Ocon as he got his highest finish this 2026 season with a P9 at the F1 Monaco GP. Haas upgrades from the Canadian GP brought more problems than solutions but Ocon was able to extract more from the car this weekend. After getting knocked out in Q1 in the qualifying, Ocon got two valuable points.
Right calls in difficult conditions
Esteban Ocon commends the Haas F1 Team for the teamwork as they managed one driver in the points. Sergio Pérez received a penalty for being out of position at the start and they took the chance to pit the Frenchman at the end of lap 9, undercutting the Cadillac driver and Franco Colapinto.
He mentioned in the print media pen these right calls and fighting through the difficult conditions brought them their points finish.
“I’m really happy for the whole team because we deserved that one. I think yesterday was a really tough day for all of us and we should have been higher up. Today we took all the right calls, all the right strategies and we progressed through the field even with difficult conditions, a lot of fighting, a lot of bunching up, difficult conditions on the last corner.”
Having pitted a long time before the first Safety Car, the French driver says staying anonymous was important.
The restart after the red flag saw Hülkenberg hit Sainz and which led the Williams to retire. It handed Ocon P11 on a plate, with George Russell’s and the German’s penalties moving him up two more spots to 9th.
Ultimately, Ocon got everything he wanted and managed to avoid any damage during the chaos of the F1 Monaco GP.
“We kept it quiet because we pitted already, so we didn’t want a Safety Car or a red flag. But we got everything that we should have got, which is mega, and also the last start. I took it a bit careful because I knew there was going to be chaos.
“It paid off because Nico got penalised, so getting P9 is really good.”
Tough but rewarding final restart for Ocon at the 2026 Monaco GP
The Haas driver admits he almost hit the car ahead multiple times after the restart. He saw a lot of last-minute braking as the traffic got backed up from George Russell playing games.
Hülkenberg was on the inside of Ocon when his overly optimistic around the hairpin saw him clout into the Spaniard.
“It was very, very hard because everyone was fighting a lot and there was a lot of traffic effects. Everyone was braking and then the last car braked suddenly, so I almost hit a couple of times the car ahead. Then I saw Nico on the inside and I was like, ‘he’s never going to make the turn.’
“So I opened up and he hit Carlos and we gained the position on Carlos, but it was very close out there. He was fast as well. So I think it’s a good recovery. Very unexpected, but very good.”
Circuit de Monaco breaking up before the race
Following multiple comments that the track was breaking up before the race, Ocon agrees that he saw it develop. As soon as he noticed, he told his team to box but avoided mentioning the surface on the radio.
He reveals that this was strategic since he knew he would lose out if Lindblad got a free tyre change.
Ocon managed to avoid any damage by compensating in his driving. He says he took the final corner well under the limit at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP.
“I saw it develop and we basically boxed. I was like, I can’t say anything because now if we stop the race, which is what happened, and Arvid got a free tyre change, we would lose out completely. So I just took two, three tenths slower on the last corner every lap.
The Haas driver realises he was right as Leclerc, amongst other drivers, got caught around that corner. He reaffirms that they did everything right this weekend for a point finish in Monaco.
“And I was right to do so because Charles got caught and some of the drivers got caught. So yeah, we did everything right.”
Ocon paid no attention to Williams’ games
Speaking on Williams not entering the pit lane, Ocon said he followed the team’s orders at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP.
He agreed that they weren’t scheduled to pit then, however it was Hülkenberg who lost the position to him as the Audi driver came through pit lane without changing tyres.
“I did everything that the team told me to. I think Nico lost out the position on me, but we were not supposed to come in at the time, I think.”
Williams was again playing strategy as they swapped their cars, with both taking turns to back the pack up and try to seal P9 and P10.
Ocon says it’s frustrating but equally part of the game. He says Haas earned it with a bad qualifying at the F1 Monaco GP.
“It’s so frustrating, but it’s part of the game. When you don’t qualify well in Monaco, that’s what you get. But they almost paid the price and actually they did pay the price at the end.
The French driver also commented on the closer racing. A mistake by Alex Albon allowed Arvid Lindblad to take a spot what would ultimately become a P6 result.
“So it was very close at some point. There was a lot of fighting and a bit more overtaking than last year. And they got side by side with Arvid and then he lost the position on there.
“So it’s not as easy as it seems to do it anymore or it has never been easy, let’s say. So you can’t say it’s forbidden. It was tough out there.”
Tight racing at 2026 Monaco GP
Hülkenberg commented that racing should be ‘as fast as it’s allowed’. In response, Ocon snipes back, “You just need to qualify better. Then there’s no problem if you’re in front.”
The race was quite tight around the streets of Monaco on the first lap and Ocon was not aware that Bearman broke his front wing behind him.
Specifically, being stuck behind Sergio Pérez as the Cadillac driver led a train down the midfield. The Mexican was a row ahead of his starting spot as he parked in the one vacated by Gabriel Bortoleto.
“I was not aware of that. I will have a look. Honestly, it was so tight out there. And actually that’s what happened. It completely killed our beginning of the race because Sergio started in front of me, when he was supposed to start behind. So he gained two places, basically.
“So we ended up being with Ollie, which should not have been the case. Oli should have been fighting Sergio, I should have been fighting Gabi ahead. So it was completely not the plan. That took too long to be rectified.”
