F1 boss admits 'nobody’s satisfied' with new driver signing

Alonso, Hamilton, Sainz and Ocon stood alongside one another in F1 race suits before 2025 Brazilian GP — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 boss admits 'nobody’s satisfied' with new driver signing

Esteban Ocon had a disappointing first season with Haas

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 7 February 2026 16:53

An F1 team principal has issued a scathing assessment of a disappointing first year for a new driver signing following the conclusion of the 2025 season.

Ahead of last year's campaign, only two teams retained their full driver lineup, whilst the other eight opted to sign one or two new stars to refresh their chances in the constructors' championship, with all eyes on Lewis Hamilton as he headed to Ferrari.

Further down the competitive order, Haas announced the signings of ex-Alpine star Esteban Ocon and 19-year-old rookie Ollie Bearman, with the American outfit looking to move on from a previously aged driver lineup.

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Both drivers signed on two-year deals, and it was seen as a real coup for Haas to get Ocon, who is a grand prix winner and has raced with the likes of Force India and Alpine in the past.

But the Frenchman could only finish 14th in the drivers' championship last year, three points behind his rookie team-mate Bearman as Haas struggled for pace throughout the year.

Ocon's inability to finish comfortably ahead of the British teenager, as would have been expected, hampered Haas' place in the constructors' standings, eventually finishing the campaign down in eighth.

On top of this, it was Bearman who provided the team's high point, when he finished fourth at the Mexican Grand Prix, not Ocon.

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Haas hope to get more out of Ocon signing in 2026

Now, Haas F1 boss Ayao Komatsu has said that 'nobody is satisfied' by Ocon's 2025 performance, and that he must do better in 2026.

"If you purely look at the sporting result, without going to details, for sure nobody's satisfied with Esteban's sporting result last year, right?,” Komatsu told media at the Haas F1 car launch. "You know, he's a team-mate against a rookie. Yes, amazing rookie, but nonetheless, he's got 10 years of F1 under his belt. He's a race winner, he's a podium finisher. So we expected more from him.

"Obviously, it's not totally his fault, it's 50-50, right? Sometimes it's the team, we couldn't give him the car that he was comfortable [with], especially in qualifying.

"And then some circuits, that's got exaggerated much more than other circuits. Look at Baku, you know, he really wasn't happy with certain braking performance, then he was miles off in the qualifying pace. Yes, Baku happened to be one of Ollie’s strongest circuits, but we didn't expect Esteban's worst day to be so far off.

"But again, there's not one reason, there's not just a driver, there's not just a team, and then each instance is different. So there's no common underlying factor, there's no [silver] bullet; it's just a process, how we work together to get the bottom of it so much quicker and then put things in place for next race.

"That's the bit I feel we - all of us together, team and driver - didn't do it very well last year, because I really felt like we should have got on top of that quicker."

Surprisingly, Bearman even managed to beat his much more experienced team-mate 17-11 in qualifying, when taking into consideration both sprint qualifying and grand prix qualifying sessions.

Ocon will need to turn the tables on Bearman in 2026 if he is to be sure of a contract extension for 2027.

The Frenchman may find it even more difficult, however, with the new regulations that are sweeping into the sport said to favour young drivers who have grown up on simulators and competing in sim racing.

2026 could be a huge year for the F1 future of now 29-year-old Ocon.

F1 Haas Esteban Ocon Ollie Bearman Ayao Komatsu