Ocon declares himself a 'free agent' amid speculation over F1 future

BAKU, Sept 23 - French driver Esteban Ocon on Wednesday declared himself a free agent from next year and said he was talking to other teams amid speculation about whether he would remain with current Formula One employers Haas.

“At the moment I’m definitely a free agent for next year,” Ocon told reporters at the Baku street circuit on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“There are things in discussion that are out of my control, there are certain topics that are out of my control.

“I will keep pushing until the end of the year and see how it goes.”

When asked if he was talking to other teams, Ocon said, “Of course, yeah.”

“Let’s see,” he added when asked if continuing with Haas was still an option.

Ocon, 30, who took the sole win of his Formula One career so far at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine, joined American outfit Haas last year in an all-new line-up with Briton and Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman.

He has scored three points to Bearman’s 18 this year and sits 18th of 23 drivers in the overall standings. But he is the team’s most recent points scorer with a ninth-place finish in Monaco.

Bearman, 21, is 13th in the overall standings.

There was speculation earlier in the year about whether Ocon would see out the season with the Ferrari-powered team following media reports of a rift with team boss Ayao Komatsu.

Ocon in May dismissed the reports as “fabricated with no foundation”.

Haas, who scored points in five of the opening six races but have drawn a blank since Ocon’s Monaco effort back in June, are yet to confirm their 2027 driver line-up.

But multiple media reports have identified Ferrari-backed Brazilian Rafael Camara, currently second in the Formula 2 standings, as favourite to replace Ocon.

The Frenchman, however, defended his performances this season.

“My performance hasn’t been an issue this year,” he said.

“I’ve performed every time I had the car.

“I’ve been the last one to score in Monaco, I was almost scoring (at the last race) in Madrid.

“There’s been a lot of times where I’ve performed when the car was underperforming.” REUTERS