Haas is certainly experiencing a positive moment and hopes, after the zero in Hungary, to return to the points to close this first part of the season in the best possible way. This confirmed the progress made with the latest package of updates brought to the VF-24. Nico Hulkenberg even set the goal of being the fifth-best car on the grid.
Still, in the meantime, the championship is already taking on a very positive value. About halfway through the current championship, the American team has more points than they scored in the entire 2023 season. The American team is also preparing its own future. After the official announcement of Ollie Bearman and the renewal of the technical partnership with Ferrari until 2028, today, Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu complete their 2025 line-up by announcing Esteban Ocon!
Haas renews and changes the entire 2025 lineup: rookie Ollie Bearman joins the expert Esteban Ocon
It was in the air, but the driver market this season has already reserved several surprises that needed official confirmation to have a clear picture of the situation. Last week Haas announced Kevin Magnussen’s farewell and now, after several discussions, Haas and Esteban Ocon have signed and made official the multi-year contract that will bind them for the next few years.
Ayao Komatsu had not hidden his strong interest in the current Alpine driver but remained generic and also spoke of ‘other Frenchmen’.
The reality is that Esteban Ocon has been one of the names at the top of the list since the beginning, as he represented the ideal identity for what the team was looking for:
“We need a fast driver, capable of developing not only the car but also the team because we are still a relatively young team,” said Komatsu.
The former Mercedes junior driver is the ideal combination of a certainly fast driver, with extensive experience in Formula 1 for various teams, including customers and constructors, capable of bringing a good haul of points to the team.
SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 07: Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team, speaks to guests in the Paddock Club during the British GP at Silverstone Circuit on Sunday July 07, 2024 in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Galloway / LAT Images)
It will be a challenge for him to get back into the game in an environment that is unknown to him. After his experiences in the Mercedes and Renault worlds, he is now approaching the Ferrari world, signing a contract with Prancing Horse’s reference customer team.
Alongside him, he will also have a young driver on the launch pad, Ollie Bearman. In his first full season in Formula 1, Bearman will compete against Ocon, who will be a significant benchmark for the young Englishman.
For 2025, therefore, and in view of the regulatory change, Haas is revolutionising its line-up and preparing to write new pages in its history, leaving the past behind and completely changing some of its foundations, with the farewells of Gunther Steiner, Simone Resta, Nico Hulkenberg and finally Kevin Magnussen, relying on Ayao Komatsu, and now on Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon.
Esteban Ocon: “I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my Formula 1 career and join MoneyGram Haas F1 Team at the start of the 2025 season. I will be joining a very ambitious racing team, whose spirit, work ethic and undeniable upward trajectory have really impressed me.
“I would like to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for their trust, their support and for our honest and fruitful discussions these past months. On a more personal note, I am very happy to work with Ayao again, as he was part of my debut when I first drove a Formula 1 car during my Lotus Junior days more than a decade ago.
“MoneyGram Haas F1 Team has exciting plans and clear goals for the future, and I look forward to working with them in Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello and being part of this great project.”
Ayao Komatsu: “I am delighted to have secured the services of Esteban Ocon for the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team. We have obviously known about his talent for a long time, and our personal history goes back to Esteban’s first experience in F1 when I was his race engineer with Lotus.
“He showed his talent back then with strong performances in the junior categories, having just won the European Formula 3 championship in 2014. Esteban has become an established talent in Formula 1 and, of course, a Grand Prix winner.
“The experience he brings, not only through his talent but also from working for a constructor team, will be beneficial to us as we grow as an organisation. It was crucial to have an experienced driver to partner Oliver Bearman next year, but Esteban is only 27 and is still young and has a lot to prove. I think we have a hungry and dynamic driver line-up, and I look forward to welcoming Esteban to the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team for 2025.”
Gene Haas: “It was important to me that we had a driver with a recognised Formula 1 pedigree and a Grand Prix winner. Esteban is certainly suited to the task.
“Esteban has proven himself for the teams he has raced for as someone who is consistently in the game and scores points – it is that consistency that we are keen to exploit as we look to further improve our performance on track. We have a mix of youth and experience in our future driver line-up and I am excited to see the results.”
