Esteban Ocon next F1 move confirmed as Mercedes lose another contender | F1 | Sport
The 27-year-old revealed the opportunity to reunite with Ayao Komatsu was crucial in convincing him to join the team, having first worked with the Japanese engineering guru a decade ago, and said he was “thrilled” to join Haas’ “exciting project”.
“I’d like to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for their trust and support, and for our honest and fruitful discussions these last few months,” Ocon said in a team statement.
“On a more personal note, I’m very happy to be working with Ayao again, as he’s been a part of my debut when I first stepped into a Formula One car during my Lotus Junior days more than 10 years ago.”
Ocon made his F1 debut in 2016 and has amassed nearly 150 race starts in the sport, racing for Manor F1, Force India, Renault and Alpine.
In addition to finishing on the podium on three occasions, the 27-year-old clinched his maiden victory with a shock win at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021.
However, Alpine’s torrid start to the season means he has only three points to his name in the Drivers’ Championship and Ocon fell out of favour with boss Bruno Famin following a collision with Pierre Gasly at the Monaco GP.
He will be hoping to strike a better working relationship with Komatsu, who remains a big fan of his work in F1.
“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,” Komatsu said.
“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. The experience he brings, not just from his own talent base but also from working for a manufacturer team, will be advantageous to us in our growth as an organisation.
“It was vital we had a driver with experience in beside Oliver Bearman next year, but Esteban’s only 27 – he’s still young with a lot to prove as well.”
Ocon’s arrival at Haas will have a knock-on effect for Mercedes, who had been linked with him as a possible contender to replace Hamilton.
It now appears there will be a straight fight between Ferrari‘s Carlos Sainz and 17-year-old Formula Two sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the Silver Arrows seat, with top target Max Verstappen confirming he will stay with Red Bull for 2025 at least.
