Haas capitalised on Alpine releasing Esteban Ocon one year ago to secure an all-new driver line-up for the 2025 F1 season, after also loaning Oliver Bearman from Ferrari.
The American squad were forced to make one change to their 2025 line-up after Audi signed Nico Hulkenberg to join Sauber. Haas reacted by striking a two-year loan deal with Ferrari for Bearman. But Ocon then hitting the driver market convinced Haas to drop Kevin Magnussen.
Bearman is the sixth teammate that Ocon has had since his debut back in 2016, after Pascal Wehrlein (2016), Sergio Perez (‘17-19), Daniel Ricciardo (‘20), Fernando Alonso (‘21-22) and Pierre Gasly (‘23-24). Ocon also considers his relationship with Bearman as his “best” so far.
Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty ImagesEsteban Ocon is surprised his relationship with Oliver Bearman did not deteriorate after crashing at Silverstone
Ocon has often had tense relationships with his teammates, especially while the Frenchman was at Force India with Perez. The pair often collided and bickered, and Ocon claimed Perez “tried to kill me” in the 2017 Belgian GP following a crash-fest in Azerbaijan earlier that year.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Haas driver Oliver Bearman? Everything to know
CategoryOliver BearmanEsteban Ocon2025 points827Grand Prix results68Grand Prix qualifying59Grand Prix wins00Grand Prix poles00Grand Prix podiums00Best finish8th5thRetirements21Retirements (classified finish)00Disqualifications00Fastest laps00Grand Prix points finishes35Sprint results12Sprint Qualifying12Sprint wins00Sprint poles00Sprint podiums00The 2025 F1 teammate head-to-head battle of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon
So, Ocon was surprised that his relationship with Bearman did not deteriorate after the Haas stars crashed in the British Grand Prix. They both spun at Brooklands after coming together when Bearman dived down Ocon’s inside while trying to remain on the only dry, racing line.
Ocon told Motorsport.com: “I didn’t think about that, but it’s actually a good point. That’s because we are very straight and honest between ourselves.
“Straight away after the race, we sat down with Ayao there. And we talked about different conditions, what we could have done better to avoid that scenario, where we should have taken care a bit more and [at] what part of the corner.
“It hasn’t changed the fundamental thing. We just learned a little bit more [about] what we can do in those kind of situations. It hasn’t changed the relationship we have with Ollie. [With him], I probably have the best relationship out of all the teammates I [have] had.”
Esteban Ocon leads Oliver Bearman in their 2025 F1 head-to-head battles at Haas
Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images
Bearman and Ocon represent the third all-new driver line-up that Haas have fielded in F1 to date. They have also scored 35 points from 13 Grands Prix and three F1 Sprint events. Ocon earned Haas’ best result of the 2025 F1 season so far with P5 in March’s Chinese Grand Prix.
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Yet despite Bearman and Ocon scoring more points than Hulkenberg and Magnussen posted over the first 13 rounds of 2024, when Haas boasted 27 to sit seventh in the F1 constructors’ championship, the Briton and Frenchman’s points only put Haas ninth in the 2025 standings.
Haas have also relied heavily on Ocon’s points, with Bearman only penning eight to date but he has finished four Grands Prix in P11. Ocon even edges the 20-year-old rookie in terms of Grand Prix results (9-5) and qualifying (8-6) and F1 Sprint qualifying (2-1) and results (2-1).
Bearman has also impressed Ocon off the track this year, with the Frenchman even dubbing the Havering native a “hooligan”. The Ferrari product especially showed Ocon his wild side at Goodwood Festival of Speed, when he produced a huge burnout driving the Haas VF-23.
Ocon added: “We have a little bit of the same passion, except that he’s a hooligan! Because he’s young, so he’s experiencing… For example, at Goodwood, we had this challenge of who was going to bring back the biggest slick tyre after the run [on wet tyres].”