Is It the End of the Road for Esteban Ocon? What May Have Happened at Haas

Haas has replaced Esteban Ocon with Ryo Hirakawa for the remainder of the F1 Mexico GP, without mentioning any reasons for it.

Is it the end of the road for Ocon with Haas? The American F1 outfit shocked everyone with the news that he would be replaced by Hirakawa for the remainder of the Mexico GP. They shared no reasons for the huge decision taken.

However, Haas clarified that it was not related to illness. But then what could be the reason behind it? Ocon missed the FP1 session for Toyota-backed Hirakawa to drive. The Frenchman returned to the cockpit for the FP2 session alongside Oliver Bearman.

FP2 Radio Exchange Potentially a Catalyst

He had a pretty normal session, barring a discussion on the radio with race engineer Laura Mueller. Was that the catalyst for a larger disagreement in debrief? It is the only logical explanation for such a shocking move out of the blue.

The discussion related to pre-decided tyre usage. Ocon was supposed to complete a high-fuel run on the medium tyre as discussed before the session. However, Haas decided to switch him onto the soft tyre after some problems with Bearman.

Naturally, Ocon was not pleased with the decision and pressed his request, highlighting that it was his weekend to do it. The requests were ignored, and he switched to the medium compound for the rest of the FP2 session.

Here’s the radio conversation:

Race engineer: “We’ve swapped the high fuel run to medium. Ollie’s appearance is not great.”

Ocon: “Still doing soft, right?”

Race engineer: “No, we have to do medium.”

Ocon: “No, no, I want the soft, like don’t do that to me. Come on. I did more laps on the medium, so…”

Ocon (while pitting): “It is my turn this weekend, so come on…”

This exchange likely spiraled later in the Haas debrief. Fortunately, the American outfit had Hirakawa, who did an FP1 session. The Japanese will make his F1 debut at the age of 32. The Toyota WEC driver finally gets the chance after multiple tests.

Rest of the F1 Season Under Threat Too?

He missed out on an F1 race seat for Ferrari junior Rafael Camara, and this move will certainly lighten the mood at Toyota, which is actively pushing to develop a Formula 1 driver from its stable.

But will he only race in Mexico or complete the rest of the F1 season? It could happen, considering that Ocon is out of contract after the 2026 season. If they do that, Hirakawa may have to choose between WEC (Monza) and Formula 1 (Brazil) next weekend.

There is also Camara in the picture, along with reserve driver Jack Doohan. Either of them could still replace Ocon for the remainder of the F1 season. It would be ironic for the Frenchman to leave in this way, which is similar to how things ended with Alpine.

Ocon rescued himself from the Alpine F1 deal at the end of the 2024 season to start early with Haas in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi. Should the Frenchman not get to race again, he will end with 199 entries (198 starts), scoring one win and four podiums.

He might get a reserve hand in 2027, maybe at Aston Martin, even though there is an outside chance at Cadillac too, which may replace Valtteri Bottas.