Esteban Ocon earning a new Haas contract now a ‘distant prospect’ if Ollie Bearman beats him in 2026

Follow us on Google Discover

Esteban Ocon will be well aware that he needs to improve his performance this season to guarantee his place on the Formula 1 grid beyond 2026.

Haas have been one of the most impressive teams during pre-season testing, racking up some serious mileage and looking quick at the same time.

It means that Ollie Bearman has the perfect opportunity to build on the highs of his debut campaign, and Esteban Ocon can put some of the difficulties he faced in 2025 behind him.

Bearman outscored the Frenchman by three points last year and set the record for the most consecutive top 10 finishes by a Haas driver in F1 history.

On top of that, he finished P11 at four races on the bounce, highlighting how many more points he could have scored if luck was on his side.

Ocon, on the other hand, couldn’t capitalise on a fast start to 2025, and after being criticised by team principal Ayao Komatsu during the winter break, faces a battle to save his race seat.

READ MORE: Haas driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Esteban Ocon needs to beat Ollie Bearman to earn Haas F1 contract extension

A report from Motorsport-Total has shared more details about the challenge that Ocon faces this year.

It’s believed that finishing behind Bearman was greeted with ‘particular scepticism’ within Haas, especially given his race-winning credentials.

Ocon blamed Haas for several mistakes they made during the season, but it was clear that he was struggling in qualifying after being beaten 14-10 in his head-to-head with Bearman.

Which driver will be the biggest disappointment of 2026, other than the Aston Martin duo?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

The pair also clashed at Silverstone, ending their hopes of a top 10 finish during a chaotic race, and incidents like that won’t help the experienced Frenchman’s cause.

The report suggests that with Ocon’s contract expiring at the end of 2026, he’s under ‘immense pressure’, and if he doesn’t beat Bearman, an extension with Haas or his chances of being picked up by another team would become a ‘distant prospect’.

READ MORE: All to know about Haas F1 Team from team principal to Ferrari and Toyota ties

Ayao Komatsu sends a warning to Esteban Ocon about his Haas future

During pre-season, in an interview with the assembled media, as reported on Formula 1’s official website, Komatsu outlined what left him frustrated about Ocon’s performances last year.

He said: “If you look purely at a sporting result, without going into details, for sure nobody is satisfied with Esteban’s sporting result last year.

“He’s a teammate against a rookie – yes, an amazing rookie, but nonetheless he’s got 10 years of F1 under his belt. He’s a race winner, he’s a podium finisher, so we expected more from him.

“Obviously, it’s not totally his fault. It’s 50/50 – sometimes it’s that as a team we couldn’t give him the car that he was comfortable [with], especially in Qualifying, and sometimes that was exaggerated much more than others.

“Look at Baku – he really wasn’t happy with the braking performance, and he was miles off in the Qualifying pace. Yes, Baku happened to be one of Ollie’s strongest circuits, but we didn’t expect Esteban to be so far off.

“But again, there’s not one reason – it’s not just the driver, it’s not just the team, and each instance is different. There’s no common underlying factor, but it’s just the process, how we work together to get to the bottom of it so much quicker and then put things in place for the next race.”

Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya are both worried about Ocon’s future and think that another tricky campaign could end up being his last on the grid.

The signing of Jack Doohan also gives Haas a ready-made replacement should they decide to part ways with the Frenchman.

However, there is hope for the 29-year-old, with Ocon describing Ferrari’s engine as ‘incredible’ during testing, suggesting that he should have a very competitive car at the start of the season.