Ocon's Haas seat in doubt as 2026 exit rumour swirls
Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli has cast fresh doubt over whether Esteban Ocon will see out 2026, with Haas boss Ayao Komatsu reportedly 'not very happy' with the Frenchman.
Fresh speculation about Esteban Ocon's future at Haas erupted after Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli claimed the Frenchman may not even finish the 2026 season.
Ocon has already come under increasing scrutiny amid comparisons with his much younger teammate Oliver Bearman, who many inside the paddock now see as the clear lead driver of the American team.
There have also been recent rumours linking Yuki Tsunoda with Haas, while former Alpine driver Jack Doohan remains heavily connected to Toyota-backed opportunities inside the organisation.
Komatsu's quiet displeasure
Speaking on the UOL Esporte channel, Cerasoli claimed Haas boss Ayao Komatsu is unhappy with Ocon's current level.
"Well, Komatsu doesn't like Ocon - he doesn't like him very much, and he's not happy with the driver's performance," she said.
"I even heard that it was unclear whether Ocon would finish the season."
"It was simply clear - Ocon's situation was far from rosy."
Separate reports then escalated speculation further by claiming the relationship between Ocon and Komatsu deteriorated significantly during the Miami weekend.
"The gap between Bearman and Ocon has widened this year, which is affecting the Frenchman's position within the team," Cerasoli was quoted as saying.
"The relationship between Ocon and Komatsu worsened during the Miami weekend."
However, the journalist later moved to calm suggestions that she had reported a specific confrontation between the pair in Miami.
"To avoid misinterpretation, I'll clarify that I was talking about Rafa Camara's move to Haas in 2027 and that Komatsu had already publicly criticised Ocon," Cerasoli wrote on social media.
"I heard nothing about any conflict between them at the Miami round and made no comment on it."
Esteban Ocon, quick reference
| F1 debut | 2016 (Manor Racing, Belgian GP) |
|---|---|
| Current team | Haas (since 2025) |
| F1 wins | 1 (2021 Hungarian GP) |
| Born | 17 September 1996, Évreux, France |
See also: Esteban Ocon stats & bio on F1-Fansite.
Related: Ocon blames bad luck as Bearman-Colapinto rift lingers
4 F1 Fan comments on “Ocon's Haas seat in doubt as 2026 exit rumour swirls”
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Brilliant now even journos are having to explain what they said and why, Im just happy my stance on things is crystal clear, as for Yuki , yep align himself with Toyota and hes in the pound seat ,maybe...
I doubt he'd switch alliance from Honda to Toyota, given how important Honda has been for his overall racing career.
you mean like how important Mercedes was for Hannahs career I suppose
Zero foundation in the first place, especially since Cerasoli herself ultimately clarified the misunderstanding, probably caused by something getting lost in translation or half-deliberately mistranslated.
In reality, Ocon would be dropped only if he began to actually flop, which hasn’t happened at any point, & all in all, he hasn’t even been as bad as the total points tally might suggest since he’s solely lost points opportunities via factors beyond his control in almost every round this season so far than outright performance, which has been a non-issue since late last season, especially in race trim, with qualifying consistency the only area to improve, if anything.
In the Australian GP, his qualifying opportunity was struck by deployment issue & race chances by the VSC timing to an extent, while in both the Chinese & Japanese GP, he was strongly affected by the SC timing, & in Miami, they were roughly matched in all competitive sessions bar sprint qualifying, not to mention even Bearman didn’t reach Q3 or the points, while their positions were close & Ocon even outright out-performed him in the sprint & reached Q3 in Suzuka, while Bearman was knocked out in Q1.
Therefore, he hasn’t given strong justification for sacking at any point & getting accustomed to the team was the true reason he took a little while last season, just like Sainz & Hamilton.
The absence of definitively superior options is another factor; the likelihood of him getting sacked is low, & only Camara could realistically even be a comparatively superior option, with Beganovic to a lesser extent, but no one else, & most certainly not someone like Tsunoda, Doohan, or Hirakawa; hence, he’s most likely safe in the end as long as he doesn’t give a strong justification for sacking, which is unlikely.
Btw, Doohan isn’t even Toyota-affiliated, as only Japanese drivers can be affiliated to either Toyota or Honda, for that matter.
Therefore, Doohan is solely a Haas reserve driver without manufacturer-specific affiliation & not even with a view to full-time promotion, or he would’ve received it in the first place.
On the other hand, Tsunoda is Honda-affiliated, so zero chance in a team that has technical partnership with Toyota, nor would Toyota even push for anyone outside their own roster of drivers amid the company policy within both that their respective drivers don’t drive for the competition; hence, neither him nor Iwasa, for example, could drive for Haas, while oppositely a Toyota-affiliated driver couldn’t drive for Aston Martin.
Additionally, he wouldn’t even be a comparatively superior option any more than anyone else available, given their relative overall F1 career records & most recent average performance levels, so tough luck, nor has Haas even been truly interested in his services at any point & if even marginally, only in 2024 critically before the Toyota partnership had begun, so zero up-to-date relevance anymore.
I’ve simply always been annoyed that people make up stuff in F1 rather than reporting based on facts or reliable sources, such as AMuS, the single most reliable publication for F1 reporting, given their record of getting most things right in advance.