The new line-up
From the driver duo formed by Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen to the new line-up of the American team for the next world championship, which will see Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon.
If the British driver had already been announced on the eve of the recent Hungarian Grand Prix as Magnussen’s replacement for next year, a week later Haas successfully completed negotiations with the French #31, who will replace the departing Hülkenberg already in agreement with Sauber, the future Audi. Ocon has signed a multi-year agreement with the American team.
The break with Alpine
The official announcement of the 27-year-old Frenchman as the new arrival in Gene Haas’ team had been expected for some time, especially after the disagreements and tensions that arose with Alpine, as well as with Pierre Gasly, which had marked the end of the relationship from next season. For the Frenchman, another adventure begins in the Circus, where he made his debut in mid-2016 with Manor.
After moving to Force India for the next two seasons, Ocon returned to his roots at Renault, where he started as third driver, with the team later renamed Alpine. In five years, Alonso’s former teammate scored two podiums, with the addition of a win at the 2021 Hungarian GP.
First words as a Haas driver
Champion of European F3 and GP3 in 2014 and 2015 respectively, he now begins another chapter of his career at Haas, with his first commentary ahead of his final move to Banbury for the next championship: “I am very proud to announce that I will be joining the
Haas team in 2025 on a multi-year deal. I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my F1 career and join an ambitious team.whose spirit, work ethic and undeniable upward trajectory have truly impressed me. I would like to thank Gene and Ayao for the honest and fruitful discussions over the past few months. Haas F1 Team has big plans and clear goals for the future and I look forward to reuniting with Ayao (my first race engineer in F1) and working with everyone else in Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello. For now, my focus and energy are still fully dedicated to the Alpine team. We have 11 races to go this year and I am more motivated than ever to finish my five-year partnership with the team on a high.”.
In this way, another chapter of the already rich and exciting driver market for 2025 ends, which still sees other operations open, with the team principal Ayao Komatsu who in the meantime welcomed Ocon with his own welcome to the team: “I am delighted to have secured the services of Esteban Ocon for the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team” – said Komatsu – “I have obviously been aware of his talent for a long time and our personal history goes back to Esteban’s first race in a Formula 1 car – I was his race engineer that day with Lotus. At the time, he showcased his talent after performing well in the junior categories – he had just won the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship. Esteban has become an established talent in Formula 1 and, of course, a race-winning driver. The experience he brings, not only from his talent but also from working for a constructors’ team, will be beneficial to our growth as an organisation. It was crucial to have an experienced driver alongside Oliver Bearman next year, but Esteban is only 27, still young and has a lot to prove. I think we have a hungry and dynamic driver pairing and I look forward to welcoming Esteban to the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team for 2025.”
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