Esteban Ocon’s anticipated move to Haas in 2025 contrasts his recent seat fitting at Williams, sparking F1 transfer speculations.
Esteban Ocon has confirmed that he recently visited the Williams F1 facility in Grove for a seat fitting. However, the Alpine F1 driver is on the verge of signing a contract with Haas F1 for 2025 and beyond, expected to be announced before the Belgian Grand Prix.
Rumours have surfaced in recent days suggesting that Williams’ chief, James Vowles, has approached Ocon about potentially leaving Alpine early to race in Logan Sargeant’s car for the remainder of 2024. Alpine has reportedly thwarted this transfer, fearing that an Alex Albon-Esteban Ocon pairing would pose a significant threat in the constructors’ championship battle.
“I have seen these reports in the press. It’s true that I did a test at Williams a few weeks ago to see how I felt in the car, especially because of my size—I’m quite tall,” Ocon told AFP in Hungary.
“There are discussions ongoing with several teams, but nothing is finalised. We’ll see what happens. My aim is to stay in Formula 1 and I am confident. In the meantime, I want to finish the season strongly with Alpine.”
AFP reported that Alpine has “categorically ruled out” Ocon leaving the team before the end of the season.
Other sources suggest that it is much more likely that Ocon will drive for Haas next year, rather than for Williams.
“Discussions are going very well, I am very confident about being on the grid for the next few years so all is good, and it allows me to focus as best as I can on what I need to do every weekend because I want to end my story with Alpine in the best possible way. The team can count on me.”
Ocon also reflected on his performance in the first half of the 2024 season.
“Personally, I think I’ve improved in many areas and I believe that along with my engineers we have done a good job. Technically, on many weekends, we’ve managed to maximise the potential of the car but unfortunately, we couldn’t really show it because we were starting from far behind.”
“The car was very poorly born, we had to try to improve it immediately, which we managed to do to get closer to the top 10 and score some points. But that is not always enough and we must continue to try to progress. Some new developments should arrive before the end of the summer. Until then, it will be tough to finish in the points; everything must be done perfectly as we have no margin.”
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Ocon’s Haas Switch Looms Despite Williams Test Visit Ocon’s Haas Switch Looms Despite Williams Test Visit
