Haas confirmed earlier this season that Esteban Ocon would leave the team after the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Rafael Câmara set to take his place next year. But Ocon’s immediate future with the team is now in question too.
Hours before qualifying at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Haas announced that Ocon would not drive for the rest of the weekend. Reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa will take over for qualifying and Sunday’s race, making his F1 debut. Hirakawa had driven in Friday’s first practice session, his third practice outing of the season.
Ocon said last week that he expected to remain in Formula 1 next year. He argued that his departure from Haas was not down to his performance, pointing to race wins across the categories he had competed in. “I believe that this is not my last year,” he said.
Haas has offered little explanation for the sudden change, saying only that it would make no further statements for now. Illness might have seemed like one possible reason: Kimi Antonelli and Sergio Pérez had both missed time this week because of illness and fatigue. But Haas has reportedly said Ocon’s absence is not illness-related.
There is also speculation that the team may have brought forward Ocon’s departure. Haas is seventh in the constructors’ standings with 30 points, 39 behind Alpine in sixth.
One report pointed to a disagreement over tyre use during Friday’s second practice session, including a tense exchange over the team’s planned tyre choice. It is not clear whether that discussion had anything to do with Ocon being replaced.
If Haas decides to move Câmara into the seat sooner than planned, he could make his F1 debut at his home race, next weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix. Câmara leads the Formula 2 standings with 207 points, seven ahead of Nikola Tsolov. F2 is not scheduled to race again until the final rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, leaving a possible opening for a change—assuming those events go ahead as planned.
