Since making his Formula 1 debut in 2016, Haas driver Esteban Ocon has faced major highs and difficult setbacks, yet he remains confident he can still fight for a world championship in the future.
From Force India to Alpine to Haas
Ocon secured his full-time F1 seat with Force India in 2017 and remained with the team through the 2018 season when they were Racing Point. He then spent 2019 as Mercedes’ reserve driver before making his return to the grid in 2020 with Renault, which became Alpine in 2021. In 2021, driving for the Enstone-based squad, Ocon made history by claiming the team’s and his own maiden F1 win at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
His time at Alpine delivered further strong results, including a P3 finish at the 2023 Monaco GP and a second-place result at the 2024 São Paulo GP. However, despite these performances, Ocon and Alpine parted ways after the 2024 Qatar GP, with Jack Doohan replacing him for the Abu Dhabi season finale.
Soon after his departure, Haas announced that Esteban Ocon would join the team for the 2025 F1 campaign.
Ocon’s championship ambition
At the F1 Abu Dhabi GP media day, Ocon shared that his belief in fighting for a world championship drives his continued presence in F1.
“Yeah, otherwise I would not be here. I would not even participate at this stage of my career. That’s where I want to be in the future,” he said.
Esteban Ocon also highlighted how quickly fortunes can change in F1, pointing to his battles with Lando Norris during the 2023 season.
“It has happened for a lot of drivers that they arrive at the right place at the right time. If you look at 2023, I look at Canada, I look at all the early places in the season, Jeddah in 2023. I was fighting with Lando three races in a row, last lap battles for P6, P7. And here he is with a race winning car and a chance to fight for the title.”
Reflecting on his own motivation, Ocon shared: “I think never give up, that’s the honest answer. I’m here in the purpose of fighting for that in the future definitely. Otherwise, why would I train so hard, put in so much effort to be here to fight for P10? That’s what we are doing at the moment. This is not really what the dream is all about,” he concluded, highlighting his 2025 season result of P15 in the drivers’ standings with 38 points.
