Esteban Ocon endured a difficult Qualifying session under the Singapore lights, finishing 19th after a series of unfortunate setbacks. What had started as one of the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s most promising Fridays of the season quickly unravelled into a day of missed opportunities, yellow flags, and inexplicable technical problems on Saturday. Although visibly frustrated, Ocon remained honest and reflective, providing a detailed account of what went wrong in Qualifying and how he plans to respond in Sunday’s race at the 2025 F1 Singapore GP
A session unravels: Seatbelt issues, yellow flag, early exit
Qualifying at Marina Bay Circuit is always a high-pressure affair — every tenth of a second matters on the tight, twisting streets. For Ocon, that precision was taken away before he could even show his potential. The Frenchman revealed that his Qualifying effort was compromised from the very beginning, with two separate incidents combining to deny him a fair chance of advancing.
“Yes, that’s for sure. We lost three-tenths on that last run, so that put us on the inside of the… We would have gone through to Q2, quite simply, but we also had a problem with the seatbelts on the first run. So, first lap seatbelt, second lap yellow flag, that means we’re out. It sounds like the book of excuses, but it’s the truth.”
Ocon explained that a problem with his seatbelt prevented him from braking properly on his first flying lap. Then, just as he prepared to push again, a yellow flag triggered by Pierre Gasly forced him to back off. Losing three-tenths of a second may sound small, but on a track like Singapore — where every corner is crucial — it was enough to end his session prematurely.
“It’s complicated” — A string of unfortunate events
After stepping out of the car, Ocon’s tone reflected both exhaustion and disbelief. He described how each time the team appeared to find progress, something inexplicable seemed to intervene. This wasn’t the first time in 2025 that fate had conspired against him, and his frustration was palpable.
“Honestly, I don’t really know what to do at this point. One time we have a problem, then we catch a yellow flag, then we have an issue with the seatbelts, It’s complicated. Every time it feels like something gets in the way, whereas on Fridays it mostly works fine, so yeah, disappointing. We’ll try to do our best for tomorrow and take any opportunities that come our way. It’s going to be a long race, so we’ll need to be there at the end. We’ll try to give everything for that.”
Despite the disappointment, Ocon tried to look ahead with determination. The 2025 F1 Singapore GP is notorious for its endurance-like nature, and Ocon knows that reliability and persistence often matter more than starting position. Transitioning from frustration to resolve, he expressed hope that the chaos of the race might yet present opportunities to recover lost ground.
Keeping faith for race day
Singapore’s night race is one of the most unpredictable on the calendar. With multiple safety cars almost guaranteed and strategy playing a massive role, even a driver starting near the back can still fight for points. When asked about his realistic expectations, Ocon remained grounded but hopeful.
“Yeah, it’s a very long race, we need to be there at the end, we need to hopefully take the opportunities, and we’ll see if we have enough pace to catch back on track.”
His words carried a sense of quiet determination. While overtaking on the narrow streets is difficult, Ocon knows that persistence, tyre management, and timing can all turn the race around. The goal is to stay patient, avoid trouble, and make the most of every strategic opening that arises.
“Pure bad luck” — Searching for the cause
Reflecting on the session, Ocon insisted that Saturday’s Qualifying result at the 2025 F1 Singapore GP stemmed from misfortune rather than performance. However, he admitted that a string of strange mechanical problems has made it difficult to build momentum this season. His explanation showed the level of attention to detail that goes into every aspect of a Formula 1 weekend — and how a small anomaly can have big consequences.
“Well, today it was pure bad luck, you know. I don’t like to say that because nothing is really full out of bad luck, but the belt on the first run is something we check every time, and I don’t know why it got wrong that time, it was completely fine the rest of the weekend.”
“And the yellow flag on the last lap, because we were not quick enough on the first one, we had to make it count and got the yellow flag there. So that was enough to make us go through.”
“It seems to be a different issue every single time, but when it seems to be okay and everything goes well, it’s something else.”
Every time the Haas team seems to stabilise, another obstacle arises. Transitioning from one weekend to the next, Ocon has faced issues ranging from braking instability to unexpected technical faults. He remains professional and analytical, but it’s clear the repeated setbacks are wearing thin.
“Everything unravelled” — The story of Saturday at the 2025 F1 Singapore GP
Heading into Saturday, things had looked different. Ocon’s pace on Friday had been encouraging, and he entered Qualifying believing that Q2 was realistic. However, the momentum shifted during FP3 when set-up changes unsettled the car. Although the team corrected the balance by the end of the session, Qualifying brought fresh misfortune.
“Everything unravelled. FP3 was one thing. It was slightly worse than Friday, for sure. But I think we managed to get back to a sensible place at the end of FP3, and we were pretty decent.”
“Obviously in Qualifying, two issues in two runs. The biggest one being the yellow flag. I tried not to lose too much time, which already is not the thing that you should do on the yellow flag. I tried to, but it was a slow corner. So as soon as you release the throttle a little bit, you lose a lot of time, because it’s a lot of time spent there. And I lost three-tenths.”
“So the three-tenths was enough to go to Q2 already, and we could have built from there with two more sets of tyres. In the first run, an issue that came out of nowhere, that didn’t happen the whole year. The belt, I don’t know, it got clipped somewhere, and I basically couldn’t brake properly on the whole first lap.”
“We don’t seem to catch a break at the moment. It’s pretty unbelievable, to be fair. We had a great Friday. Yes, a little bit of a reset in the middle of FP3, but it was going to be a decent Quali, I’m sure. Disappointed with that, for sure.”
A comparison with Baku
In comparing this weekend to previous ones, Ocon acknowledged that while the reasons for underperformance vary, the pattern remains the same — a promising start, followed by complications. He recalled the Azerbaijan GP as another example where small problems multiplied into a disappointing result.
“Yeah, for different reasons, really. I think Baku was more something that was related to the car, in terms of braking, where we struggled, quite a lot of front locking and stuff. I think here it was slightly better, even though it wasn’t perfect, I managed to get away with it. Yeah, I mean, we should have been through. That’s it, if there was no yellow flag. There’s no rocket science, so yeah.”
Eyes forward to Sunday
As the lights of Marina Bay prepare to shine over race day, Esteban Ocon faces an uphill challenge. However, he remains composed and professional, determined to turn adversity into motivation. Transitioning his mindset from frustration to focus, he knows that Singapore’s unpredictability could still work in his favour.
With patience, strategy, and a clean race, Ocon and Haas could yet recover some pride from what has been a difficult weekend. But for now, his reflections tell a familiar story in motorsport — that even in a sport defined by precision and preparation, sometimes, luck is the most decisive factor of all.
