With 14 points in the championship standings so far, Esteban Ocon narrowly missed out on adding to his tally at the Miami GP, finishing just outside the top 10 for the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.
Costly unfortunate race circumstances
After a strong qualifying session that saw him start from ninth on the grid, Ocon ultimately crossed the line in 12th place, trailing behind Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman admitted there was little more he could extract from his car over the weekend as they lacked the race pace to fight for points.
“It’s a little bit of a shame. I feel like we did really maximise it in quali[fying].”
Ocon pointed to unfortunate race circumstances – most notably the timing of the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) – as a key factor in his missed opportunity. The VSC, triggered by a collision between Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan, proved costly for Haas. Ocon had pitted earlier, on lap 2, while Hadjar capitalized on the VSC window later in the race, undercutting the French driver.
“Unfortunately, today we also didn’t get really lucky. We never pitted under the VSC. We lost out to Isaak on the pit stop. As well, we got undercut from there.”
Midfield battle with Hamilton
During the race, Ocon engaged in a tight midfield battle that included a hard-fought fight against seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t hold off the Ferrari-powered car, ultimately conceding the position. Still, Ocon found positives in the car’s behaviour.
“Lewis [Hamilton] was just a bit quicker than us when we were fighting him. Unfortunately, we just lost out, but the car felt probably the best it’s felt all year in terms of balance.”
Looking ahead to Imola
Although the result was disappointing, Ocon expressed optimism about Haas’s trajectory, especially heading into the upcoming Imola Grand Prix. He remains confident in the team’s plans to address the VF-25’s limitations.
“That’s why it’s a bit frustrating, but as a team we have some plan to try and improve the car. I’m looking forward to the next race. See where we are.”
Strong start, slower finish
The midfield scrap remained tight throughout the Miami GP. Ocon noted that while the VF-25 showed strong pace early on, it struggled more in the final stint.
“I think on the last stint we were slower than Isack [Hadjar] and Yuki [Tsunoda] slightly, but in the first stint we were as quick. I think we could have fought if we got it right in that sense.”
While his rivals showed better pace, Ocon is confident that had he managed to stay ahead of them on track, he could have put up a strong defence and made it a competitive battle for the final points-paying position.
“We could have maybe got a point. It would have been tight because they were quicker. But if we were in front of them, there would have been a fight for sure.”
Despite a strong performance in Miami GP qualifying, Haas driver Esteban Ocon remained grounded about the challenges of translating one-lap speed into race-day results with the VF-25.
“No, it’s always like that. Reality always comes back to face in the race.”
New regulations for 2026
With major changes set to arrive in 2026, this season serves as a transitional year. Teams are expected to shift their focus early to developing for the new rules, which could further widen the performance gap between front-runners and midfield contenders.
For teams like Haas, who are striving to break into consistent points-scoring positions, this season may prove especially challenging as resources begin to shift toward long-term projects rather than short-term gains.
When asked where next year’s regulations would take the competitive landscape of Formula 1, Ocon feared that the new guidelines would widen the existing gap between the teams.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really looked at next year’s regulations. But I believe the gaps are going to be bigger next year. This is the end of the regulations.”
Team progress impeded by gap in competitiveness
While there has been some cause for optimism – such as the team’s ability to qualify closer to the front – Ocon lamented the disparity between teams remains too wide to allow consistent fights for top positions.
“Being so close in quality is already a very good thing. But there are still too many gaps between teams unfortunately. We never have the chance to fight for podiums or top five, which is a shame.”
He acknowledged that their rare podium in China was helped by unusual circumstances, but insisted the team remains determined to push forward.
“Even though we got one with some circumstances in China. But we’ll keep fighting and hopefully they will come.”
Encouraging setup progress in Miami GP
Despite structural limitations, Ocon found encouragement in Haas’ performance in the Miami GP, noting an improvement in car handling compared to earlier races. Reflecting on the improvements seen over the Miami GP weekend, Esteban Ocon credited both the team’s learning curve and adjustments made to the VF-25’s setup.
Asked whether the car’s improved balance was down to circuit characteristics or setup changes, Ocon was clear:
“No, we definitely learned quite a lot in terms of set-up. We faced quite a lot of issues on Friday and Saturday in the race with the car. We managed to reduce that deficit that we saw.”
While not all problems have been fully resolved, Ocon viewed the progress made as a significant step forward.
“I think we still have a little bit of issues in that sense. But we’ve reduced it a lot and that’s a very positive point of this weekend.”
