Difficult weekend for Esteban Ocon: "It's not normal"

A complicated end to the weekend for the French who did not score any points in Australia, Esteban Ocon is no exception to the rule. Positioned seventeenth on the grid, the new driver Haas finished the race thirteenth and his teammate Oliver Bearman fourteenth. With the six retirements that occurred on the Albert Park track, the team managed by Ayao Komatsu finds itself last in this first of the 24 races on the calendar. "I think we maximized what we had in our hands, explained the Evreux resident. Unfortunately, it was a complicated race, we lacked a lot of grip and speed."

A "strange" deficit according to Ocon

While the No. 31 usually benefits from extreme conditions, the rain could do nothing for him. "Even when we were in contact with the others, I told myself that at some point we would be able to hope for points, said Esteban Ocon. We had them right in front of us, there was a battle. I thought I was going to be able to get into the mix and be in the battle." But the behavior of the car proved to be a far cry from pre-season testing where Haas completed 457 laps, one less than Mercedes who had lined up the largest number. "Unfortunately, we have a big grip deficit compared to the others, which is very strange because in Bahrain, this was not the case." noted the Tricolor.

Eyes fixed on the sequel

The new Haas recruit was surprised by this drop in performance, which he had not noticed in Bahrain: "The speed we have this weekend is not normal, we should be faster than that." There are still 23 races on the 2025 calendar, the next of which will take place in a week in China, an opportunity to start modifying the car. "We will continue to work hard on this, said Ocon after crossing the finish line. I'm sure we'll be able to find answers and improve our performance in the next races." The sequel in Shanghai from Friday, March 21st…

Not our weekend, but both drivers gave it everything right until the end 👊# HaasF1 #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/xHSMmXXqs3

—MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) March 16, 2025

ALSO READ > Norris clinical, Sainz misses: Australian Grand Prix notes