In any walk of life, unwelcome reputations are tricky to shift. In Formula 1, they can be especially brutal. Look at Romain Grosjean being branded a “first-lap nutcase” by Mark Webber at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2012 after they made contact.
Grosjean’s former team-mate at Lotus Pastor Maldonado was dubbed “Crashdonaldo” for his habit of crashing. During his 96 grands prix, there were 29 retirements, he incurred 39 penalties totalling 88 places of grid penalties and 305 seconds of time penalties.
As Ocon is announced as joining Haas for 2025, his arrival will also bring a reputation for not being a team player – baggage that Haas cannot afford as it aims to build on the progress under team principal Ayao Komatsu, who has done an outstanding job since replacing Guenther Steiner.
Should the aforementioned reputation for being a bad apple come true, it would put Haas in a tricky position as it looks to use Ocon’s experience as a way to cultivate the career of Oliver Bearman, Ocon’s rookie team-mate.
However, despite seemingly being a lone-voice on this opinion, it is not inconceivable that actually Ocon is the perfect person to drive Haas forward and that the preconception is all wrong.
If we look at Ocon’s relationships during his career it is possible to identify the flash points, while team harmony is less obvious and rarely talked about. For instance, his time with Manor has not been scrutinised. Neither when he drove alongside Daniel Ricciardo at Renault.
Esteban Ocon, Renault F1 and Daniel Ricciardo, Renault F1
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
He initially had a good partnership with Sergio Perez at Force India but their relationship deteriorated. However, if we are being honest, Ocon was not entirely to blame.
The two fell out in Canada in 2017 when Perez failed to follow a team request to allow Ocon pass. They made contact at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and blamed each other. The two made contact again at Hungary and then Perez accepted the responsibility at the Belgian Grand Prix for clashing into Eau Rouge and then later again at the same spot in the race, costing Ocon his front wing as the Mexican suffered a tyre puncture. And they also crashed at the Singapore GP in 2018 – that time Perez sent Ocon into the wall and out of the race.
Then there was Ocon’s partnership with Fernando Alonso, someone who himself has often faced questions about his role as a team player. The two tangled during their…
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