Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon will contest his second F1 season with Haas in 2026. 

After five years at Alpine, Ocon embarked on a new adventure in 2025, switching to Haas.

For Ocon, it was a sour end to his time at Enstone, missing the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as part of a deal with executive advisor Flavio Briatore which allowed him to test for his new team early. Ocon remains one of the most underrated drivers on the grid, with his wet weather ability right up there with the very best.

Ocon was beaten over the course of 2025 by impressive rookie teammate Ollie Bearman as Haas claimed eighth in the constructors' championship. 

Esteban Ocon's route to F1

Ocon was handed his F1 debut in the middle of 2016 following his GP3 Series (now Formula 3) title triumph with ART Grand Prix. Part of the Mercedes young driver programme, Ocon showed his potential with minnows Manor Racing, running in the points in a treacherous race in Brazil before finishing 12th.

His performances earned him a drive at Force India alongside Sergio Perez for 2017 and 2018. Ocon scored points in 12 consecutive races during his first year with the team, including P5 at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Despite Force India’s strong form, they were curtailed by a number of incidents between Ocon and Perez, most notably at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where the pair were in contention for the podium.

Ocon stepped up his form in 2018, out-qualifying Perez in the teammate head-to-head, but it wasn’t enough to secure his seat for the following season. Due to the team’s financial issues, the ownership changed, with Lawrence Stroll heading up the organisation.

This meant Lance Stroll would take Ocon’s place for 2019, leaving him on the sidelines. Ocon hoped that Mercedes would give him a promotion alongside Lewis Hamilton, given Bottas failed to register a win in 2018, but the Frenchman became their reserve driver.

Ocon returned to F1 in 2020 with Renault but struggled alongside Daniel Ricciardo. Still, he took his maiden F1 podium finish at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

He became an F1 Grand Prix winner at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, seeing off Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in a chaotic race. Alongside Fernando Alonso, Ocon proved to be a close match, enhancing his reputation.

Ocon managed to outscore Alonso in terms of points in 2022, even if the Spaniard was plagued by reliability. The 28-year-old’s best F1 weekend came at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix as he challenged for pole position for Alpine.

He converted his strong qualifying position into his third career podium finish, helping them secure fifth in the constructors’ championship. Ocon added another rostrum appearance to his CV with an incredible drive in the wet at the Sao Paulo GP in 2024.