Esteban Ocon confirmed he has “nothing to announce yet” regarding his Formula 1 future after the most difficult start to a season of his career.
The Haas driver has scored just three points across the opening 10 rounds of the 2026 campaign, claiming to struggle with the inconsistencies of the VF-26.
But it has just been a continuation of his poor form from 2025, a season in which he finished 15th in the standings and three points behind rookie team-mate Oliver Bearman – who is already 15 clear this year.
So, with Ocon’s contract expiring at the end of 2026, his seat is under threat for 2027 and Haas is understood to be considering Leonardo Fornaroli or Rafael Camara as Bearman’s next team-mate.
It was therefore put to Ocon ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, which is the final race before the annual summer shutdown where driver signings for the following season are often confirmed.
“Of course nothing to announce yet,” said the 29-year-old. “The summer break will be quite busy. We will see. At the moment we’re focused on this race and we’ll see what happens.
“There’s always many options. At the moment we will discuss with the team first. I’ve been here for two years. I’ve been convinced by Ayao [Komatsu] to come here. The first discussion will happen with this team for sure.”
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
The 2021 Hungarian GP victor has simply underwhelmed since joining Haas from Alpine for 2025, particularly as he became the American outfit’s first ever race-winning driver.
Ocon was expected to lead the squad forward in this new era, but the veteran has struggled to put a run of results together and is being comfortably beaten by his 21-year-old team-mate.
The Frenchman even previously claimed that the inconsistencies of the VF-26 had hindered him at all but two rounds in 2026 – his only points finishes came in Japan and Monaco – marking Ocon’s worst start since his F1 debut in 2016.
So when asked in Budapest to summarise his season so far, he replied: “Not frustration maybe, but too many difficulties. Too many issues. Too many things that prevented us from performing.
“Probably the most difficult first half of the season that I’ve ever had. In terms of how consistent the car was, from one race to another, and how many problems I had this year.
“I hope it will get better. We are working hard for it to get better, all together, and it’s not only tough for me, it’s tough for the whole team.
“But we know what we have to do and we are sticking together to fix the problems. That’s the important thing.”
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