Ocon: 2026 work begins straight after Abu Dhabi
No rest for the wicked, it seems; Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman will be flying to Italy after the Abu Dhabi weekend is over to get their first taste of Haas’ 2026 car in the Ferrari simulator.
Haas boss Ayao Komatsu wanted both drivers to maintain focus on 2025, and thus has suggested that both drivers hold fire on trying the new car before the season is over.
“As soon as this is finished, we are flying – both me and Ollie – to the team in Maranello, and we are driving the 2026 car,” Ocon explained.
“It was very much a team’s decision, not for us to focus on the 26 stuff in terms of driving, in terms of, driving style, technique and everything before this season was finished. Ayao was very clear on that.
“He wanted us to focus completely on this season, which is very important for the team. We’ve done meetings because we had to in terms of technicality and some stuff that we had to decide very early on with the team. But the work for us is going to really start post Abu Dhabi testing.”
On Haas’ title partnership with Toyota: “It is great news, Toyota is a brand that I really enjoy working with. I’m not saying that because they are working with us, I really mean it; they have great values, they have great respect, they are passionate about racing.
“They are petrolheads basically, and that’s so cool to see when we visited them in Japan, they’ve put us in on the gravel track, and they’ve put us in the in the craziest track I’ve ever seen, on the road, and I’ve tested the WRC car at Goodwood. It’s fantastic honestly to work with them.”
Esteban Ocon trying out WRC cars with Takamoto Katsuta
Photo by: Toyota Racing
