Esteban Ocon has opened up about his sentiments regarding the season finale, Haas’s battle for seventh place in the Constructors’ standings, his performance during the race, Fernando Alonso’s superlative racecraft, him keeping Lewis Hamilton at bay, and the turnaround in his form following his P7 finish at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday.
Lining up eighth on the grid after a superb lap in qualifying, Ocon started the race on the yellow-walled tyres and lost a position on the opening lap. He eventually pitted for the hardest compound on Lap 19 and worked his way through the yet-to-stop traffic to emerge in seventh position.
Ocon maintained seventh through to the chequered flag, holding off Ferrari’s Hamilton, to add six more points to Haas’s tally. However, with Alonso finishing ahead and Lance Stroll scoring a point, the American team finished the 2025 season in eighth place behind Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship.
Ocon experiencing bittersweet emotions in Abu Dhabi
Speaking in the print media pen after the F1 race, Esteban Ocon commented that he was pleased to conclude his 2025 campaign with a seventh-place finish at the Abu Dhabi GP.
However, the Frenchman also lamented their failure to score more points in the previous rounds that would’ve allowed the Kannapolis-based squad to build a comfortable buffer over Aston Martin ahead of the final race of the season.
Additionally, Ocon reflected on his solid performance at the Yas Marina Circuit and noted how exciting it was to carve his way through the field.
“Yeah, I’m very happy to finish the season like that. But there’s a bittersweet taste on that one because in the last ten races we should have been strong like this. It hurts that we’ve missed [the seventh position in] the Constructors’ Championship because of that.
“We couldn’t beat Aston [Martin] today. But it’s before that we should have scored more points.
“Really strong race. Other than that, I think we showed great pace, great tyre management, good overtaking as well. It was nice to be able to fight like that all the way and catching back in front.”
Ocon has high praise for Alonso
After falling short of P6 by just 2.314 seconds in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP, Esteban Ocon expressed his frustration over how Alonso’s clever car placement in Sector 3 had made overtaking nearly impossible.
Nonetheless, the 29-year-old acknowledged the Spaniard’s outstanding wheel-to-wheel skills and reiterated that it was disappointing to lose out in the battle for seventh place in the Constructors’ standings by a close margin.
At the same time, Ocon also maintained that he was glad to finish the 2025 F1 campaign on an encouraging note and that he is eager to carry that momentum into the next season.
“Effectively, Fernando [Alonso] was too strong. He was managing extremely well in that tight part. We were all stuck behind him and then he was pushing in the next four corners. Then that was opening enough of a gap for us not to overtake.
“He still knows the tricks. It pisses me off. But yeah, he’s incredible. He’s a legend in wheel-to-wheel racing.
“Today we were not quick enough to be able to try and go in front of him. Missing out by three points [ten points] is, as I said, difficult to swallow.
“But it’s nice to end the championship on such a note. And it’s cool to build up the foundation for next year like that.”
Ocon enjoys battling Hamilton
Asked what it was like having a seven-time F1 world champion hovering in his mirrors at the Abu Dhabi GP, Esteban Ocon proclaimed that he always enjoys his on-track battles with Hamilton.
Stating that he would prefer to contend for better positions than they are currently capable of, the one-time race winner nevertheless admitted that it was satisfying to fend off the Ferrari and bag some valuable points.
Ocon also complimented Hamilton on his excellent recovery drive from P16 to eighth place and added that the 40-year-old would’ve finished ahead of him under normal circumstances.
“It’s not the first time that it has happened. It’s very nice to be fighting with Lewis [Hamilton]. Obviously it would be nice to be fighting for higher positions than where we are fighting.
“But it was good for us to be able to keep him behind and to score some more points at the end of the day.
“I think Lewis has shown a great comeback today from where he started the race. He clearly showed his talent. And I think in a normal race he should have finished in front of us.”
Ocon relieved that he has “still got it”
As for his rookie teammate massively outperforming him in recent rounds and how important his turnaround over the course of the Abu Dhabi GP weekend was, Esteban Ocon said that he kept looking for answers despite the difficulties he was encountering on the track.
Revealing that doubts had begun to creep into his mind, the 29-year-old was undeniably relieved to finally showcase his strong pace in qualifying and during the race at Yas Marina. Emphasising how the devil’s in the details, the Haas driver also surmised that they have to put the whole weekend together to deliver satisfactory results on a consistent basis.
“The thing is, we kept on looking. I had doubts that there was something weird going on for ages and many, many races. But at some point, when you keep trying, when you keep looking, when you don’t find the answers, I have to reset myself and just think maybe I lost it.
“What can I do better? And I was half a second off. It was like almost a tenth every corner that I was losing.
“So I’m glad that we have shown that this is not the case, that I still got it and that we just need to put everything right and not miss any details because that’s what we’ve done, unfortunately.”
