Ocon declares himself a free agent as Haas stalls on 2027 driver decision

Esteban Ocon has declared himself a “free agent” for the 2027 Formula 1 season, confirming he is in discussions with rival teams while Haas continues to deliberate over its driver line-up for next year.

“Yes, at the moment I am definitely a free agent for next year,” Ocon said. “There are things in discussion that are out of my control and there are certain topics that are out of my control. So I will keep pushing until the end of the year and see how it goes.”

Asked whether remaining at Haas was still a possibility, Ocon was non-committal: “Let’s see.”

The Frenchman’s seat has been under threat for some time despite what he describes as a strong personal run of form. Haas has been using its testing of previous cars (TPC) programme to audition potential partners for Oliver Bearman in 2027, with Ferrari junior Rafael Camara, reigning F2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, and current reserve Ryo Hirakawa all understood to be in contention. Recent reports suggest the team is leaning towards Camara — currently second in this year’s F2 standings and the reigning F3 champion — though team principal Ayao Komatsu stated during the Spanish Grand Prix that he had “maybe five” drivers under consideration.

Ocon has been candid about the frustration of performing well in a car that has struggled with consistency. Haas enjoyed a strong start to the season in points-scoring terms, but that form has since faded, with an aerodynamic sensitivity issue or a parts quality control problem — or both — believed to be contributing factors. Komatsu has acknowledged the team is still investigating.

“We know it’s been an ongoing issue,” Ocon said. “It’s reassuring that I’m doing a good job. Obviously, my performance hasn’t been an issue this year. I’ve performed every time I had the car. I’ve been the last one to score in Monaco. I was almost scoring in Madrid. There’s been a lot of times where I’ve performed when the car was underperforming. It’s been quite disappointing at times, obviously, to have these kind of problems.”

Bearman, meanwhile, was asked whether he felt ready to step up as team leader if Ocon were to leave, and the young Briton said he had learned a great deal from his team-mate across nearly two seasons together.