Four-podium F1 driver is becoming the master of excuses, his team boss didn’t sound impressed

Haas driver Esteban Ocon has been one of the most inconsistent drivers on the Formula 1 grid so far in 2025. He’s part of an all-new line-up at Haas alongside Oliver Bearman.

Ocon’s Alpine exit, which was described as a mutual decision, looked like a mistake after the season opener in Australia. Haas were the slowest team on the grid, with Ocon and Bearman 13th and 14th even after a flurry of retirements.

However, in China, the sport’s youngest team made a remarkably swift improvement. Aided by the disqualification of the two Ferraris, Ocon scored an excellent P5, while Bearman’s P8 made it a double points finish.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, the team settled towards what may be the norm. Jacques Villeneuve lauded Bearman for a surprise Q3 appearance, and he held onto 10th during the race.

Ocon, on the other hand, endured a miserable weekend as he qualified and finished 18th. But he didn’t necessarily think he was to blame for that poor result.

Esteban Ocon blamed Haas car for Oliver Bearman gap – Ayao Komatsu disagreed

Haas introduced one of the first upgrades of 2025 at Suzuka, with a new floor on both cars. But speaking to The Race, Ocon claimed ‘it didn’t quite work’ for him as it did for Bearman.

“When we went to the new parts that were supposed to give us more performance, it didn’t quite work on my side, as it did on Ollie’s,” he said.

He later added: “It worked on one car, which is very good. We need to pick that up, understand the data from Ollie’s side – it’s good that he managed to pick up a point.”

“We are very happy on that side now. It’s just a matter of turning it into our car as well. No doubt that this we can do.”

Addressing the same publication, team principal Ayao Komatsu suggested that the data disproved Ocon’s claims. He was at a loss to explain why the four-time podium-finisher was so far off his rookie teammate.

“The data is pretty clear: it’s working,” he said. “We haven’t understood why Esteban couldn’t perform.”

Ocon was the best part of half a second behind Bearman in Q1, the only session where both participated. He now trails the overall qualifying head-to-head 2-1.

Flavio Briatore’s stinging criticism of Esteban Ocon after he suggested Pierre Gasly had a different car

When Haas arrive at the Bahrain Grand Prix and their post-Japan analysis is complete, perhaps they will change their tune. But this isn’t the first time that Ocon has disagreed with his team after underperforming.

Last season, Ocon claimed that Pierre Gasly’s Alpine was much faster – between 0.5 and 0.7 seconds. The team thoroughly inspected his car and found no evidence to support the theory.

Instead, they felt that he was ‘blaming the car’ when he should have been ‘looking inwards’. Perhaps this weakness has followed him to Haas.

On the most recent season of Drive to Survive, Alpine’s Flavio Briatore seethed at Ocon over his accusations. He went as far as to call him a ‘spoiled brat’.