Ocon was with Leclerc and Vasseur when the disqualification was announced

The adage "one man's misfortune is another man's gain" has never been more true than for Haas, Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix. The Frenchman, who started eleventh on the grid, crossed the finish line in seventh position, while his British teammate, who started from 17th place, finished tenth. This was the first victory for the American team, as both of its cars finished in the points.

A surprise for the team after difficulties encountered during the Sprint race. "We didn't expect it, we thought we would improve little things, try to optimize the car, that it would go in the right direction, told the pilot live with Julien Fébreau. But we never thought we would turn the situation around to such an extent that we would have such a high-performance car, especially in racing." However, the start of the season did not go off under the best auspices in Melbourne for the Haas, who finished thirteenth and fourteenth, last of the cars still on the track after the carnage of six retirements, including one on the formation lap (Hadjar, Doohan, Sainz, Alonso, Bortoleto, Lawson).

More points than expected

Despite a lackluster start, the improvements made to the American single-seaters in China between the Sprint and the race had an effect, as they both finished in the top 10. This was without taking into account the relegation of the Ferrari who freed up two places... and the points that went with them. Second surprise then. Esteban Ocon picked up 4 additional points by moving up to 5th place and his teammate gained 3 more by moving up two positions.

The decision having been taken after all the checks imposed by the FIA ​​and deliberated a few hours later, some drivers and their teams had already packed up to return. This was the case for the Évreux driver... But also for Charles Leclerc, its engineers and its Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur. "I was on the plane with Charles, his engineers, and Fred Vasseur too, he said. We were all together, we had just heard the news, so I shook Fred's hand, then Charles's, and I said sorry for you, but thank you for me! That gives us two more places for the team overall, so even without that it was an incredible weekend." Indeed, with their first 14 points of the season, bagged in China, Haas is provisionally in sixth place in the constructors' championship. We'll be heading to Japan in ten days to see if Haas's progress continues.

“I shook Fred’s hand, I shook Charles’s hand, I told them: sorry for you, but thank you for me.” 😅@OconEsteban was live with @Julien_FEBREAU to debrief the #ChineseGP🇨🇳, he returned to the announcement of the disqualification of Ferrari👀 pic.twitter.com/KFbR6JF4K9

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 26, 2025

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