Esteban Ocon Admits There Was A Row At Haas But Says No Punches Were Thrown

Esteban Ocon has denied reports that his shock removal from the Haas line-up at the Mexico City Grand Prix followed a physical altercation with team principal Ayao Komatsu. In a statement posted to social media on Saturday, the Frenchman acknowledged a disagreement had taken place but said he “categorically” rejected any suggestion that violence was involved.

Haas announced before final practice that reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa would take Ocon’s car for the rest of the weekend. The team offered no explanation beyond confirming it wasn’t illness, and said no further statements would be made.

That silence didn’t last long. French daily L’Équipe reported that a meeting between Komatsu and Ocon had ended abruptly, and possibly physically, and the story quickly spread through the paddock.

Ocon’s version is that a difference in viewpoints on Friday night led to a discussion with the people involved. He wrote that he strongly condemns violence in all its forms, asked for speculation to stop while the matter is being dealt with, and promised further updates “in due course”.

There are clues about what sparked it. According to RaceFans, Ocon had a testy radio exchange with race engineer Laura Mueller over his strategy in second practice on Friday, and his statement suggests the fallout from that is what cost him his seat.

Komatsu declined to discuss the circumstances when he was asked about it during final practice, Speedcafe reports.

The timing is brutal for Ocon. Haas announced in September that he would leave at the end of the season, with Ferrari-backed Rafael Câmara taking the seat for 2027, and the team still hasn’t said whether Ocon will race at any of the remaining rounds this year.

The 30-year-old joined Haas at the start of 2025 after five seasons with Alpine, and he remains the winner of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, still one of the more unlikely results of the decade.

It isn’t the first time his name has been attached to a paddock flare-up, either. After the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, a furious Max Verstappen shoved Ocon in the FIA weighing area after the pair collided while Verstappen was leading, and Ocon later described the Dutchman’s behaviour as violent and unprofessional.

In 2024, his first-lap clash with teammate Pierre Gasly at Monaco came shortly before Alpine confirmed his exit, although Ocon has always maintained the two weren’t connected.

Hirakawa, meanwhile, admitted to being surprised by the call-up and disappointed with his qualifying result, on a day when Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position in three years. The Japanese driver will start Sunday’s race, which airs on Monday morning Australian time.

For a cheerier F1 story, Tesla’s new Roadster is running a banned fan-car trick from 1978, and the grid could soon welcome its tallest driver ever.