Former Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok has argued that Esteban Ocon “would be feeling twitchy” about his Haas seat after the strong performance of his team-mate Ollie Bearman.
Since joining the American outfit at the start of 2025, Ocon has found himself increasingly under pressure from his team-mate. In his rookie F1 season, Bearman finished 13th in the standings with 41 points and Ocon finished 15th with 38 points. After the first half of 2026, Bearman sits 13th in the championship with 18 points, while Ocon is 17th with only three points.
While discussing the 29-year-old’s future on the Sky Sports F1 Show after the Austrian Grand Prix, Chandhok agreed with Sky F1 lead commentator David Croft that Ocon will be feeling the pressure.
“He would be feeling twitchy, wouldn’t he? Because he’s now down 8-3 on qualifying across all the sessions that you can compare them. That’s not a good score,” the former driver explained.
“Even at the weekend, he was a long way behind in the race, and maybe there are issues, but that’s a big gap. I don’t know who the alternatives are.”
Haas is understood to be considering Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara for 2027.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
“We’ve heard of Rafael Camara, who is a Ferrari junior. Obviously, Ferrari has big links with Haas,” Chandhok continued. “They’ve placed Ollie Bearman there. So maybe they would place their current Formula 2 star who’s doing a very good job in F2. He could be another option. Yuki Tsunoda is sniffing.
“I would go for Camara. I would go for a young hotshot if they were going to change it.
“Bearman has got experience now. But when we get to next season, he would be in his third year. They’ve got an experienced number one driver. Why not get a young hotshot in? Because then if Ollie does get promoted to Ferrari down the line, then Camara can step into that role.
“So to me, if they were looking to change, I would go for a young F2 hotshot.”
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