Esteban Ocon set to be Ferrari protege's teammate in 2025: Reports
It is being reported that Esteban Ocon is set to become Ferrari junior driver Ollie Bearman's teammate at Haas for the 2025 season. The Frenchman had recently announced that he and Alpine would part ways at the end of the 2024 season after five years as a pair.
Ocon and Alpine have achieved three podiums during their time together which included a shock win in Hungary in 2021, a P2 in Sakhir 2020, and a P3 at the 2023 Monaco GP. However, his stay with the team was marred by underperforming machinery and teammate battles with Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly.
As per RacingNews365.nl, Esteban Ocon has already signed a multi-year deal with Haas F1 and replaced Kevin Magnussen. The American outfit had recently announced Bearman ahead of the British GP after being impressed by the young Brit's lap times in the Free Practice sessions for them.
The Normandy-based native was on the shortlist of both Haas and Audi but chose the former as the German manufacturer, just like Alpine and Williams, have been keen to sign Carlos Sainz. Although there has been no official confirmation of the news from Ocon or the American team, it is expected that the announcement will come before the summer break.
Esteban Ocon analyzes his P18 finish in the British GP qualifying
Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon finished a lowly P18 during the British GP qualifying session just ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez and his teammate Gasly. The Frenchman was unable to set a competitive lap in the changeable conditions in the Q1 session and was effectively the slowest of the drivers as Perez went off in the session while his teammate did just one lap.
As per F1.com, the 27-year-old analyzed the qualifying, saying:
“It was a complicated session with the drying track and stoppage for the red flag, but ultimately, we did not optimize our Qualifying today. We did not take the right decisions at the right time, and we seemed to be offset compared to the others, and not pushing when the track was probably at its best.
"Then there was some confusion at the end where I thought we had one more push lap and I was told to abort the lap. In the end, it is a frustrating day that we did not maximize and one that we need to review," he added.
Esteban Ocon further pointed out that it will be a difficult race on Sunday given their starting position.
The poor qualifying is a surprise from the French team given their points-scoring run in the last five races that saw them jump above Williams and Sauber in the Constructor's Championship.