Esteban Ocon has praised Haas for its swift reaction to a poor start to the 2025 Formula 1 season, citing the team’s turnaround is the quickest he has experienced.
After a dismal showing in Australia where it languished at the rear of the field, Haas rebounded impressively, securing points finishes at three of the next four races.
A double top-10 finish in both Bahrain and China has propelled Haas into sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship with 20 points, five behind Williams in fifth.
Ocon, who partners rookie Oliver Bearman, expressed admiration towards how the American outfit has overcome the harrowing outing that it endured in Melbourne.
Without directly naming previous side Alpine, Ocon’s comments insinuated that he had become accustomed to slower reactions to complications arising elsewhere.
“I do not feel this team is small,” Ocon asserted.
“This team is reacting quicker than I have ever felt before in terms of producing parts, in terms of producing solutions, coming up with data points.
“We are a lot less [in number of employees], but there is two times the work being carried out compared to what I have seen in the past.”
Ocon staggered by Haas turnaround
Haas’ early struggles mirrored Alpine’s difficulties last season, when it too started on the back foot before recovering some competitiveness later in the year.
However, the speed of Haas’ response has caught the paddock’s attention, and Ocon believes the team’s determination to take quick action has been pivotal.
“I have never seen a team coming up with a solution within two weeks and bringing an update so fast in reaction to the situation,” the Frenchman added.
“It is extremely satisfying to work with a team that takes action quickly to fix things.”
Haas has silenced external doubts
Ocon also addressed the scepticism surrounding Haas after the opening race, noting that many doubted the team’s ability to recover in a short space of time.
“It was a massive shock for all of us to see how far off we were,” he admitted.
“A lot of people said that was it for our year, that we would stay at the back.
“But nobody within Haas believed that. We knew there was potential in the car. We just needed to unlock it.”
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