Oliver Bearman reacts to Esteban Ocon being confirmed as his 2025 Haas teammate

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One of the worst-kept secrets in the Formula 1 paddock has now been confirmed.

Esteban Ocon announced after the Monaco Grand Prix that he would be leaving Alpine after five years with the team.

Ocon’s relationship with Pierre Gasly was fractured, to say the least, and now he’s set to embark on a new adventure.

Haas have known for some time that they needed one new driver after losing Nico Hulkenberg to Sauber.

That’s looking more and more like a precarious move to make with Mattia Binotto brought in to replace Andreas Seidl this week at Audi before their introduction to the grid.

Oliver Bearman was announced as Hulkenberg’s replacement, becoming the first rookie since Logan Sargeant to join the grid.

READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver and Ferrari gem Oliver Bearman? Everything to know

His impressive performances in FP1 for Haas alongside his fantastic cameo at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Ferrari sealed his spot on the grid.

Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Haas confirmed that they would be going forward with a completely new driver line-up by announcing that Kevin Magnussen wouldn’t have his contract extended.

Gene Haas reportedly delayed announcing Ocon to try and lower his salary demands but an agreement has now been reached.

Bearman has now reacted on Instagram to Ocon being confirmed as his first Formula 1 teammate.

The pair will be delighted with the progress Haas have made this year and their partnership with Ferrari appears to be going from strength to strength.

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

Oliver Bearman reacts to Esteban Ocon being announced as his Haas teammate

Announcing the next stage of his Formula 1 career on social media, Ocon said: “Very proud to announce I will be joining @HaasF1Team in 2025 on a multi-year deal.

“I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my F1 career and join an ambitious racing team whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory has really impressed me.

“I’d like to thank Gene and Ayao for our honest and fruitful discussions these last few months.

“Haas F1 Team has big plans and clear targets for the future, and I am looking forward to reuniting with Ayao (my first ever F1 race engineer!), as well as working with everyone in Kannapolis, Banbury, and Maranello.

“For now, my focus and energy is still fully dedicated to @AlpineF1Team.

“We’ve got 11 races to go this year and I am more motivated than ever to end my five-year collaboration with the team on a high.”

Bearman reacted to the news and simply said: “Congrats mate!”, while the Haas F1 team replied: “We’re so excited to welcome you to the team from next season Esteban!”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Haas F1 Team from team principal to Ferrari relationship

Haas announce Esteban Ocon has signed a multi-year contract from 2025

Although the exact length of Ocon’s contract hasn’t been confirmed, the team has shared that the Frenchman is on a ‘multi-year’ deal which means he’ll be with the team for the next set of regulations.

Haas are in a difficult position when it comes to the new ruleset considering they have the smallest workforce in the paddock.

Ferrari provide Haas with as many parts as is allowed by Formula 1 which means they don’t have as much work to do as some of the factory teams.

However, it also means they’re adapting to what they’re given making development more difficult at times.

They’ve gone with a combination of experience and youth for 2025 and beyond and Ayao Komatsu will be hoping they can build on the success of Magnussen and Hulkenberg.

However, Ocon’s relationship with his previous teammates hasn’t been straightforward and it’ll be interesting to see how the pair fare if they’re going wheel-to-wheel on track every weekend.