Esteban Ocon will depart the Haas F1 team at the end of the 2026 season, bringing his two-year stint with the squad to an end.
The confirmation of Ocon's departure puts his immediate F1 future in doubt, with there only being seats at two other teams available, but the French driver will not be getting a Mercedes or Racing Bulls drive next season.
RacingNews365 understands that Haas is highly likely to sign Ferrari protege and F2 championship leader Rafael Camara to partner Oliver Bearman in 2027.
It means Ocon, who joined Haas at the start of 2025 following a five-year spell at Alpine, will have to become a third and reserve driver if he wants to stay within grand prix racing circles, or look for a seat in another championship, such as IndyCar or the WEC.
Ocon, a grand prix winner following his success for Alpine at the 2021 Hungarian GP, has a total of 195 starts to his name, but has struggled alongside younger team-mate Bearman at Haas.
In 2025, Bearman narrowly beat Ocon by 41 points to 38 in the standings, and in 2026, Bearman leads by 20 points to 7 following an Azerbaijan GP where both drivers scored points for the first time all season.
Ocon finished eighth in Baku for his best result of the year and more than doubled his points tally overall from three to seven in a year Haas has struggled with car parts inconsistency, which has affected both drivers.
Ocon's best result for Haas was fifth in the 2025 Chinese GP.
The article continues below.
Esteban Ocon addresses Haas exit
Taking to social media to announce the news, Ocon vowed "this would not be the end of my F1 career."
"My time with Haas F1 Team will come to an end at the end of the 2026 season," he wrote on Instagram.
"I leave this project with my head held high and proud of my performances in what were not always the easiest of circumstances for various reasons and factors outside of my control.
"My immediate focus is the next race weekend. I will continue to work hard with the team, maximise every opportunity, and keep extracting every bit of performance from the car.
"There are still many races to go this season and, as always, I will give it my everything behind the wheel for myself and for my team.
"I am still motivated. I am still hungry. This is absolutely not the end of my Formula 1 career."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the Azerbaijan GP but also look ahead to F1's return this weekend to Malaysia! Rumours linking Christian Horner with a return to the sport is a major talking point.
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