Ocon denies Haas exit rumours ahead of Canadian GP
22nd May 2026Esteban Ocon has hit back at speculation suggesting he could leave Haas before the end of the season, insisting reports of a falling out with team principal Ayao Komatsu were “fabricated”.
Feature image credit: Haas F1
Rumours following the Miami Grand Prix claimed tensions had developed with the team and that there was a high likelihood that Ocon would part ways with Haas before the end of the year, despite only joining up with the team ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Speaking ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the Frenchman rejected those claims and spoke about the strength of his relationship with Komatsu. Ocon said:
“The stories have been fabricated with no foundation. There were no real sources in there. I joined this team because of Ayao, because I’ve known him for so long.
“He’s been my first race engineer in F1 and he’s going to set the record straight later in the media. There was no dispute in Miami but when I read the article that kicked it all off – they call him Ryo Komatsu – so as soon as I read that I stopped reading.”
Ocon says speculation surrounding his future with Haas has created a situation unlike anything he has previously experienced in F1. He added:
“At the end of the day, I’m human, so when it escalates so much and when there is so much going on it affects my sponsors, my family, it affects everyone that is around me. It’s not normal that you can fabricate stories like this and just get away with not having any problems for yourself.
“You can’t just lie about things. I’ve never faced that in F1 before.
“The important thing is the job we are doing inside the team and as long as Ayao is happy with that, and seeing that I’m putting the work in, and that we will deliver the result when they come, that’s the most important.”
The Frenchman has had a difficult start to the 2026 campaign, scoring just a single point so far this season. In comparison, Ollie Bearman sits eighth in the Drivers’ Championship on 17 points – this is coupled with Bearman having the upper hand in 2025 where he also finished ahead of Ocon in the standings.
It’s believed Ocon’s multi-year deal with Haas runs until the end of the season.
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