Alpine F1 Driver Esteban Ocon Set To Race for Haas in 2025

The 27-year-old Frenchman who shocked the F1 world by winning the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix was due to leave his current employer, Alpine, at the end of his contract, which expires at the end of 2024.

After being linked with seats at Audi and Williams, Ocon chose Haas and will partner with highly rated British Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman at the team.

"I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my Formula 1 career and join MoneyGram Haas F1 Team from the start of the 2025 season," said Ocon in a Haas press release. "I'll be joining a very ambitious racing team whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory has really impressed me.

"I'd like to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for their trust and support and for our honest and fruitful discussions these last few months. On a more personal note, I'm very happy to be working with Ayao again, as he's been a part of my debut when I first stepped into a Formula 1 car during my Lotus Junior days more than ten years ago. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team has exciting plans and clear targets for the future, and I'm very much looking forward to working with everyone in Kannapolis, Banbury, and Maranello and being part of this great project."

How Ocon got his chance in F1

After seeing his Formula 3 rival Max Verstappen graduate to F1 in 2015, Ocon finally got his chance at Manor, replacing Indonesian Rio Haryanto for the 2016 Belgian GP. Using his Mercedes junior connections, the Frenchman landed a full-time drive at Force India, partnering Sergio Perez in 2017.

In his first season at Force India, the Frenchman impressed, only finishing out of the points twice all season. He achieved a best finish of fifth at the Spanish and Mexican GPs.

However, his second season at Force India was marred by opening lap incidents and the team's financial difficulties, which saw them enter administration risking 405 jobs. Despite a successful takeover bid from Canadian Lawrence Stroll, the Frenchman's position at the team was still in jeopardy, but even so, he managed a superb third place on the grid at the Belgian GP.

With Lance Stroll taking his seat at the renamed Racing Point, Ocon spent 2019 as a Mercedes reserve driver, ready to jump in if the team's regular drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas couldn't race. The Frenchman returned to the F1 grid in 2020 with Renault, and despite struggling to match teammate Daniel Ricciardo's pace throughout the season, he finally secured his first podium with second at the Sakhir GP.

Race winner at last

With Ricciardo departing for McLaren for 2021, Fernando Alonso returned to F1 with Alpine partnering Ocon. The Frenchman had a good start to the season, scoring points in four of the first five races. These results impressed the Renault group, who rewarded him with a contract extension until 2024.

But Ocon's finest hour came at a chaotic Hungarian GP, as he avoided the carnage at the start to move into second, and after stopping for slicks before the restart, he took the lead from Hamilton. Despite having quicker cars behind, the Frenchman, aided by Alonso's masterful defensive driving, soaked up the pressure and took his maiden F1 win from Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton.

The relationship between Alonso and Ocon soured during 2022 as the pair cost each other valuable points by squabbling for positions at the Saudi Arabian GP and Hungarian GP. This culminated in the Spaniard leaving the team for Aston Martin in 2023, with Alpine replacing him with the Frenchman's former karting foe, Pierre Gasly.

In only their third race together, the pair collided at the Australian GP, throwing away crucial points for Alpine. Still, Ocon scored points in Saudi Arabia and Miami and finished an impressive third in Monaco after briefly holding the provisional pole.

Alpine's off-track management merry-go-round overshadowed the second half of 2023, with the lone bright spot being Gasly's third place at the Dutch GP. In 2024, the team's lack of performance saw then technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer depart after a pointless Bahrain GP.

Ocon scored the team's first points with tenth at Miami, but his relationship with Gasly hit rock bottom at Monaco after the pair made contact on the opening lap putting the former out of the race. Although he escaped a potential benching for Canada in place of Alpine's reserve driver, Jack Doohan, the damage was done, and he confirmed before the Canadian GP he would depart the Anglo-French team at season's end.

Ocon currently lies 18th in the driver's standings, with three points to his credit. Last Tuesday, before traveling to Budapest for the Hungarian GP, he received his race-winning Alpine A521, which will be stored in his family's garage.

Is Magnussen’s time in F1 up?

With Nico Hulkenberg leaving for Audi/Sauber in 2025, Haas will have its first all-driver lineup since 2021, when it fielded an all-rookie pairing of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.

Ocon's arrival leaves Kevin Magnussen on the cusp of leaving F1. The Dane, who finished second on his debut for McLaren at the 2014 Australian GP, has been exploring his options in IndyCar and sportscars.

The Dane leaves the team as its most successful driver with 109 points at the time of writing, accumulated during two spells with the team between 2017 and 2024. Highlights include one pole position at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP and three fifth-place finishes at his comeback F1 race, the 2022 Bahrain GP.

Other drivers on the current F1 grid who don't have their futures secured at the time of writing include Stake pair Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, RB's Daniel Ricciardo, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, and Williams' Logan Sargeant.