Esteban Ocon signs multi-year deal with Haas

Esteban Ocon has signed for the Haas F1 Team for 2025 and beyond and as per reports, he is set to drive alongside Oliver Bearman. The move came after the American team bid goodbye to their current driver Kevin Magnussen last week.

Haas announced the signing just ahead of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, a venue where Ocon made his Formula 1 debut back in 2016. The Frenchman is currently racing for Alpine and decided to part ways recently after a five-year journey that started in 2020.

With the move, Haas has secured a driver who has a Grand Prix win under his belt, something Gene Haas' team has never had. Ayao Komatsu and company are all set for a new line-up in 2025 as Nico Hulkenberg, the other driver at the Kannapolis-based team, has already reached a like agreement with Kick Sauber.

Esteban Ocon has 146 race starts to his name and has driven for Manor, Force India and Alpine (formerly Renault). He has three podiums and 425 points under his belt, and a solitary victory gained in 2021 in Hungary.

Gene Haas, the owner of the Haas F1 team, said:

"It was important to me that we have a driver with a known pedigree in Formula 1, and as a Grand Prix winner, Esteban undoubtedly fits that brief. Esteban’s proved himself in the teams he’s raced for as someone who’s continually in the mix and scoring points."

Further details of the move, such as the number of years Ocon signed for and his salary and other remunerations, are as yet unknown.

---

Esteban Ocon to reunite with Ayao Komatsu

Esteban Ocon is all set to race under Ayao Komatsu, the Haas F1 team principal, from 2025. Ocon is already familiar with the Japanese engineer, as the latter engineered Ocon's first F1 test with Lotus (rebranded to Renault in 2016) in 2014 at Valencia.

“I’m delighted we’ve secured Esteban Ocon’s services for Haas,” Komatsu said. “I’ve obviously been aware of his talents for a long time and our personal history dates back to Esteban’s maiden run in a Formula 1 car – I was his race engineer that day with Lotus."

“He displayed his talents back then coming off the back of strong performances in the junior categories – he’d just won the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship. Esteban’s gone on to become an established talent in Formula 1 and of course a Grand Prix winner," he added.

The Frenchman is currently struggling with Alpine as the French team has seemingly failed to provide a point-scoring challenger to their all-French line-up. Esteban Ocon is currently P18 in the Drivers' Championship with three points after 13 races.

Compared to Alpine's nine points, Haas is currently in a better place with 27 points after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Banking on this, Esteban Ocon would want to return to a point-scoring position and improve his fate, all under the guidance of Ayao Komatsu.