Esteban Ocon may have pulled off a big coup by signing for Haas at a time when the partnership with Toyota had not been presented to him.
At the end of his cycle with the Enstone-based team, Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine to join Haas in 2025. On paper, the transfer is not necessarily the most attractive, going from a factory team to one of the smallest teams of the grid.
However, the arrival of Ayao Komatsu at the head of Haas F1 has visibly given a boost to the project, both on and off the track. The VF-24 has made good progress on the weak points of last season, and quite rare for Haas, the development seems to have borne fruit.
Komatsu has also managed to sign a duo of 2025 drivers who promise to be very competitive with the young Ollie Bearman and the now experienced Esteban Ocon. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Haas team director managed to re-engage Toyota in F1 through a technical partnership with his team.
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Ocon was already convinced without the deal with Toyota
Thus, for Esteban Ocon, it seems that the planets have aligned well in a context where a multi-year contract has been signed with Haas F1.
“Yes of course”, assures Ocon that it is the right time to join the Haas team as a partnership has been formalized with Toyota. “At the time, Ayao convinced me with the plan he had. He didn’t specifically talk about that, but he definitely told me what his plan was to take this team to the next level and help with things that the team has an opportunity to improve on.”
“He convinced me at the time and that reinforces my idea of clearly trusting him for the future. I think it’s an exciting time for the future of the team.”
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