Ocon and Haas show ambition at the end of the triple header

After five races already contested this season, three in a row in three weeks, Haas alternated between brilliant shots and missed shots. In Jeddah, the new team ofEsteban Ocon naturally hoped to do much better than finishing 13th and 14th. But the Frenchman himself admitted that the strategy was indeed to make a strategic move to jump back into the top 10 for this race.

"We had a very aggressive strategy. We did the whole race on the same set of tires, which was a bit too much for the end since we had to ease off on the last lap, he confessed last Sunday on Canal +. But hey, we didn't have anyone to fight with anyway. We got into positions that were interesting, we were in the points at one point. That's what we wanted, for something to happen and for us to be in the points at that point.

Reflecting this strategy, which is far from conservative or safe, Haas seems intent on asserting a new status this season. In addition to some good results, the goal of remaining "the best of the rest" at the end of the season is paramount in listening to the team's various stakeholders.

Ocon as a symbol of an opportunistic Haas team

"The positive outcome of these three weekends is that I think we are one of the teams, or the team that has scored the most points in this triple, added Esteban Ocon on Saudi soil. It's clear that we always have to be in these positions, like we were in Bahrain. Now we have to put everything in order and try to be more consistent in our performance."

This speech is unmistakably similar to the one given by Frédéric Vasseur, the team director. Ferrari, during the same post-race. Although the objectives of the two teams powered by the Italian engine are distinct, the underlying theme remains similar. For Ferrari, lacking performance, the objective of catching up McLaren could involve an addition of technical details. For Haas, surpassing Williams, the main rival in the race for fifth position in the constructors' standings, could also be decided by a few strategic decisions.

Fifth in Shanghai, eighth in Japan, the Frenchman is only six points behind Alexander albon in the drivers' standings. His team, for its part, is only five points behind the duo formed by the Thai driver with Carlos Sainz, firmly clinging to fifth place in the constructors' standings after Jeddah. Paradoxically, Ocon, for example, had a gap of almost a second over Albon in terms of top speed in Jeddah, a sign of the considerable work still needed on the car.

While Williams has made it official that it will focus solely on 2026 before heading into Miami, Haas could have the opportunity to catch up with Ferrari. Capable of reaching the top 10 with patience and success, the Americans will, however, need to ensure they rely on more than just luck in the future.

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