Esteban Ocon gets 'bizarre' reality check as Lando Norris' F1 arc leaves him in the shadows

Haas driver Esteban Ocon has expressed his raw feelings about his F1 career not taking off despite the best of his efforts and "sacrifices". The Frenchman compared himself to Lando Norris, who, within two seasons, went from fighting to stay in the points to winning the 2025 drivers' championship.

Ocon hails from a humble background, and his parents, at one point, sold their garage and house to continue funding his racing journey. He eventually earned his way to F1 and also ticked off one dream every driver has - winning a race.

However, that happened to be a one-off wonder with Alpine for Esteban Ocon, who has found himself in the midfield and back of the pack for most of his career. In a recent interview with RN365, the 29-year-old recalled how he used to fight with Lando Norris for position in 2023, and only two seasons later, found himself consistently getting lapped by the McLaren driver, who stood on 18 podiums in 24 races en route to his first F1 title.

"In 2023, I was still battling with Lando on the final laps in Jeddah and Canada, and in another race that season, we were literally side by side in the battle for sixth place," Ocon explained. "That was only two years ago, and now he's suddenly fighting for the title, and I haven't seen him for a whole year. He's lapped me every race, that's how bizarre it is when you talk about differences."

Esteban Ocon's first season with Haas in 2025 wasn't pretty. Though it was a definite step up from Alpine, which became the worst team on the grid this year, the French driver got outperformed by his rookie teammate Oliver Bearman, who scored three more points and finished two places ahead of him (P13 vs P15) in the drivers' standings.

Responsibility to repay his parents makes Esteban Ocon "keep fighting" for F1 dream

The Haas of Esteban Ocon at the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying - Source: Getty

Though Esteban Ocon somewhat felt time had passed him by in comparison to Lando Norris, who achieved every F1 driver's ultimate dream, he wasn't ready to stop fighting for his dream. The Haas driver didn't want to disappoint his parents or his future children by having a career of what-ifs.

In the interview with RN365, he also spoke about firmly placing faith in his dream of conquering the ultimate prize in F1, saying:

"But I believe it will happen one day, considering how hard I'm working for it. If I retire in a few years, I don't want to have to tell my children that it might have been possible if I'd done something different. That would be really awful, and I don't want to have to live with that. Out of respect for my parents and others around me, I can't do that either. I have to give one hundred percent in every race."

When asked if he had a retirement timeline in mind, Ocon added:

"That's not part of my plan at all. I want to keep fighting, that's what I want. I want to do well. We'll get a lot of answers next year. Maybe it works, maybe not. But I'll give it everything I've got. I'm only 30 next year, so realistically, I can keep going for another ten years! That's not ideal for your body, but I'll think about that when I'm 70 and everything hurts!"

Though no one can predict which team will emerge as the top dog when F1's new technical era begins in 2026, it seems unlikely that Haas will be among the front-runners. The health of the Ferrari power units it uses will determine where it lands in the pecking order.

Edited by Yash Kotak