Esteban Ocon has highlighted the “big differences” he’s felt after moving from Alpine to the Ferrari-powered Haas Formula 1 team.
The French driver, who ended his time with the French team at the end of the 2024 season, has signed a multi-year deal with Haas after a tumultuous year alongside Pierre Gasly. The driver is now adjusting to not just his new role in Haas, but also the new powertrain that sits behind his seat.
Adapting to the Italian power unit that powers Haas cars has been a challenge for the driver who has extensive experience with Mercedes and Renault engines.
Talking to the media, Ocon admitted the substantial difference in his new power unit.
“It was a bit of a shock initially in Abu Dhabi,” he admitted. “But on track, performance-wise, it’s working super well and fits very well with the strength of the car. There were big differences, but we’ve simplified things a lot. It now feels much more common to how I imagined using it.”
Unsurprisingly, the driver didn’t elaborate on the differences between the Haas and his previous machinery.
Pre-season testing at Bahrain didn’t tell us a lot about where Haas stand going into the Australian Grand Prix. The last day saw Ocon run some long runs, but without any race simulations nor a full tank, it’s impossible to draw any conclusions.
The Frenchman was a second slower than McLaren, but similarly to the previous season, they showed very little tyre degradation.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Photo by: Ferrari
Ocon joins rookie driver Oliver Bearman at the American outfit, with both drivers being new to team principal Ayao Komatsu. They gear up for the season-opener this weekend.
“I’m really looking forward to being back in Melbourne. Historically, we’ve had some good memories from there – okay some bad ones too – but in terms of performance, and Melbourne being the very first race for the team and getting that P6, it’s a fantastic memory,” Komatsu said in a press release ahead of Melbourne.
“It’s a very challenging track as essentially it’s a street track with low-grip, and difficult overtaking. It’s a challenging circuit for the driver, the car and the team. From things we saw at testing, there’s a lot to be positive about and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in Melbourne.
“If we put everything together, which we need to do, and get the best out of the car and the driver, we can be fighting.”
