Esteban Ocon reveals Lewis Hamilton conversation following Haas axe

Esteban Ocon has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton was kind enough to hold a conversation with him during the United States Grand Prix weekend following his recent axe by Haas.

Haas announced earlier this month that Ocon's contract would not be renewed after a two-season spell with the American team.

Owner Gene Haas and team principal Ayao Komatsu have instead opted to hand F3 champion Rafael Camara, who is also chasing this season's F2 title, an opportunity following a recent shootout at Portugal's Portimão circuit, where it is claimed his speed was impressive.

The decision means Ocon is in search of a new opportunity, preferably in F1, even as a third/test driver for a season to ensure he remains as high-profile in the paddock throughout 2027, in the hope of being back on the grid in 2028.

After mentioning that Lance Stroll was the only driver to have offered him any sympathy over his situation, a photo then emerged of the Frenchman chatting with Hamilton at the Circuit of the Americas.

Asked about the conversation, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, Ocon said: "Yeah, Lewis came to me in Austin.

"We chatted a little bit about the situation and how things went."

Suggested to Ocon that "it was nice", the seven-time F1 champion had made the effort, he replied: "For sure. Yeah, definitely."

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Ocon - 'A lot more tricky'

Ocon goes into this weekend's Mexico City Grand Prix as one of the 10 F1 drivers who will sit out first practice as part of the sport's rules in offering FP1 opportunities to rookies.

Ocon, who makes way for Japan's Ryo Hirakawa, does not see the lack of an FP1 as a major inconvenience for the remainder of the weekend.

"This track is not the hardest on the power unit normally," said Ocon. "With the simulator work that we've done, it doesn't translate as one of the very hard ones.

"We have quite a lot of freedom, quite a lot of deployment through the lap because there's a lot of braking, low drag. It's actually quite slippery in the air, and we are more limited with the speed threshold at high speed.

"It's obviously not ideal to miss FP1, but there is a chance that the track is very dirty in FP1.

"All in all, it's not a bad place to lose a session. It's quite late in the season, and we've got a good amount of learning now, and yes, there aren't that many corners.

"If you think of some other tracks where I could have given up another FP1, if you take Austin, for example, that would have been a lot more tricky."