![\"\u2018That\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/XPB_1240384_HiRes.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEsteban Ocon has backed up Jack Doohan’s F1 credentials as he works with him again at Haas. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEsteban Ocon has backed up Jack Doohan’s F1 credentials as he works with him again at Haas. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
Now teammates at Haas, Ocon said he was pleased to see Doohan remain in the paddock as the team\u2019s reserve driver for the 2026 season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doohan joined Haas at the beginning of the year after losing his Alpine race seat just six rounds into the 2025 campaign. He had started seven grands prix in total, debuting at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi in place of Ocon<\/a>.<\/p>\n The pair formed a friendship during their time together at Alpine while Doohan served as the squad\u2019s reserve driver, and the Frenchman said he was glad to see the Australian back in a positive environment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to see him. He\u2019s a good friend of mine, Jack, and I\u2019m happy to see him in the paddock,\u201d Ocon told Speedcafe.<\/p>\n \u201c[I\u2019m] happy to see him in a healthy environment as well in this team, and yeah, helping us to hopefully take the next step as well. That\u2019s great to have him around.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great character and hopefully he\u2019s going to help us to develop the car further.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether he believed Doohan deserved a full-time seat in F1, Ocon suggested the 23-year-old had not been given a fair opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he didn\u2019t have enough of a chance. No,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are going into the season, for sure you can\u2019t have three or four races to just prove yourself. That\u2019s not fair. He needed of course more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Doohan reveals Alpine decided \u2018brutal\u2019 F1 fate before home race<\/a><\/p>\n Ocon enters 2026 beginning his 10th year in F1, having made his debut in at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n He has since taken one victory and multiple podiums across spells with Manor, Force India, Racing Point, Renault, and Alpine before moving to Haas.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the milestone, the Frenchman admitted the passage of time had caught him by surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah it\u2019s pretty crazy! Time flies really. I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019ve been here for 10 years! It feels like a lot less,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, yeah, that\u2019s the reality of things. I\u2019ve been driving for a while now. A lot of races for sure. I\u2019m excited for what the future holds.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, obviously, I\u2019ve [got] a win. A few podiums. But what I want is much more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ocon said his ambition remains to fight consistently at the front, something he achieved regularly during his junior career before reaching F1.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve achieved very much in F1 in comparison to what I\u2019m dreaming of,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve won consistently in every category before I came to Formula 1. Apart from DTM, which was only half a year. And my aim is to do the same in F1.<\/p>\n \u201cSo of course that\u2019s not going to happen this year realistically. But I\u2019m working hard for that to happen one day.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of his win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix<\/a> and his other F1 podiums, he said the races he considered standout performances were the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix and the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, where he briefly led despite driving a car he felt was capable of finishing only eighth<\/a>.<\/p>\n After Haas showed encouraging pace in pre-season testing and scored points in the hands of Oliver Bearman in Australia, with Ocon sitting just outside the points in 11th, the Frenchman said the goal for 2026 was to consistently extract the maximum from the package and score points whenever possible.<\/p>\n \u201cA successful year would be scoring points consistently every race. That would be great,\u201d Ocon said.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting the maximum out of the car every single time. That would be also fantastic and what I would like to be doing.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year was quite difficult for many different reasons. And I hope that this year will go a lot smoother.\u201d<\/p>\n 2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix \u2013 Schedule, how to watch, TV times & more<\/a><\/p>\n
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