Esteban Ocon still struggling with his Haas: "The car was better in sprints than in qualifying"

Starting 13th on the grid, the French driver missed out on Q3 by two-tenths of a second, and therefore a top-ten place on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix. Qualifying 12th for Saturday morning's Sprint, the Norman driver managed to climb two positions and finish in the top 10.

Things were no easier for him during Saturday's qualifying session. Or withwho was notably affected by the yellow flag caused by Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi at the end of Q2. The driver Haas However, he believes that even if it costs him money, the sensations he develops with his Haas VF-26 still do not suit him, and therefore make his sessions difficult.

"The yellow flag cost us, unfortunately. To be honest, the car wasn't giving me a good feeling."he stated in an interview with the official website of the F1. "There was certainly room for improvement, as we didn't really progress on the final lap. It's far from optimal, in any case."

The Norman driver, however, is trying to maintain a semblance of optimism, hoping to repeat his comeback from the Sprint. While he didn't score any points on Saturday morning, the same position at the finish of the Grand Prix would allow him to secure a point, thus opening his account for the 2026 season, in which Haas expects to be fighting in the middle of the pack. « I hope it will be possible to recover during the race. The car was better in sprints than in qualifying. We need to look into why that was the case.he explained to Canal+ cameras.

"We took the yellow flag on the last lap" 😩

Disappointment for Esteban Ocon, caught out by the yellow flag caused by Bortoleto and can only manage 13th 😕#f1 #chinesegp pic.twitter.com/gtHqsR8ARW

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 14, 2026

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