Following the termination of his relationship with the Haas Formula 1 Team, Esteban Ocon is not giving up on the sport, targeting five to seven more years of racing in the top flight.
Ocon joined Haas from Alpine at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season but has not impressed during his tenure with the team while teammate Oliver Bearman has comprehensively beaten him.
That has prompted Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, to issue a warning for the Frenchman ahead of the 2026 season, admitting his disappointment with his performance.
Fast forward a few months, Haas announced they would not continue with Ocon, who is defiant that he deserves to be in Formula 1.
The 30-year-old said: “That’s where I deserve to be, if I look at the results and what I’ve shown in F1. I deserve to be in F1.
“Of course, there are other categories which are fantastic as well. But I want to be racing in F1 for the next five to seven years,” he declared. “That’s where I want to be, so I will keep pushing to be in that position. In the near future, that’s the only thing I’m looking at so far.”
However, in case a racing seat is not available for 2027, Ocon remains flexible and will accept a reserve of third driver role as long as that keeps him in touch with Formula 1 hoping for future opportunities.
“If there are no possibilities to race next year, that’s what I will do,” Ocon, who has 196 Grands Prix under his belt, concluded.
Ocon had been racing in Formula 1 since 2016 when he started with Manor. He then moved on and has driven for Force India in 2017 and 2018. After spending 2019 as Mercedes reserve, he joined Renault in 2020 and remained with them until the end of 2024 as the team became Alpine.
His best result is a win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine. (Quotes from RacingNews365)
Source: grandprix247.com (9.10.2026)
Link: https://www.grandprix247.com/formula-1-news/esteban-ocon-wants-to-be-racing-in-formula-1-for-next-five-to-seven-years
