Ralf Schumacher now agrees with Juan Pablo Montoya on Esteban Ocon’s Formula 1 future

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Ralf Schumacher has shared his worrying verdict on Haas driver Esteban Ocon’s Formula 1 future in the build-up to the 2026 season.

Haas have had a very positive start to 2026 and Formula 1’s new regulations, and look like one of the favourites to be at the front of the midfield this year.

The new Ferrari power unit is very reliable, and Haas could benefit from their rapid race starts due to a suspected smaller turbo.

One of the most intriguing intra-team battles last year was between Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

The one-time race winner started faster than the British rookie, but Bearman finished three points ahead of his teammate in the drivers’ championship.

Ayao Komatsu has warned Ocon that he needs to step up, and Ralf Schumacher has suggested that if he doesn’t improve in 2026, he’ll be saying ‘farewell’ to Formula 1 at the end of the year.

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

Ralf Schumacher warns Esteban Ocon about his Formula 1 future

Schumacher was speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast about Ocon and Bearman and said: “The youngster came, saw, and conquered, and of course made Ocon look a bit pale.

“He needs to change that now. Otherwise, I think this will be more of a farewell event for him at Haas if he doesn’t show this year that he can be faster or at least on par [with Bearman].

“Of course, with Bearman, he probably also has one of the better talents who also has the potential to become world champion.

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“We’ll see when he’s at Ferrari. He has to perform. Otherwise, there are so many good people waiting in the wings who were strong in Formula 2 and who also deserve a chance.

“We know that Gene Haas is also someone who makes tough decisions, and he needs performance; he wants performance.”

This comes after Juan Pablo Montoya suggested Ocon is racing for his F1 future this year after being beaten by Bearman last season.

The former Williams teammates didn’t always agree when they were racing alongside each other in the early 2000s, but have both reached the same conclusion about the 29-year-old heading into this season.

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

Esteban Ocon sees the positives from Haas’ 2026 Bahrain pre-season test

Ocon proved last season that he’s very adept at getting up to speed quickly at the start of each campaign, scoring points in five of the first 11 race weekends.

The highlight was a P5 at the Chinese Grand Prix, and he will be encouraged by the work he completed in Bahrain over the last two weeks.

He set the 14th-quickest time of anyone during the second week in Bahrain, but more importantly, only three drivers completed more laps.

Ocon has echoed Max Verstappen’s thoughts on the new car, even if he is concerned by the lack of potential overtaking.

Speaking in his official post-test debrief, Ocon said: “I think once again we’ve had no major issues with the car.

“We completed the program as well as the test items to continue work on trying to get more front-end with the car – that’s been positive.

“Ollie’s had a good afternoon, which is encouraging, and I hope that the team continues to develop further with everything we’ve learned from these tests.”

Leaving Bahrain, Ocon knows he’s in the final year of his Haas contract, and will want to start the season on the front foot to convince Komatsu he deserves a new deal.