Esteban Ocon admits that there is a need to rebuild that confidence despite what Haas describes as an incredible turnaround between the first two races of the 2025 season.
Haas had a solid season before Testing, but was the slowest car at Australia’s Grand Prix and was not in the mix of points in a chaotic race. A week later, the team bounced back at double points in China. Eventually he was promoted to 7th and 10th and 5th and 8th due to post-race penalties, but Ocon says his next goal is consistently competitive.
“We need to stay at the top of the game,” Ocon said. “I still don’t have confidence because it’s just Race 2 and we’ve been swinging our performances around with performances from bottom to midfield.
“So we need to keep track of what we’re doing, focus on ourselves and optimize what we have. We know there’s more performance to unlock from the car.
Despite his words of caution, Ocon praises Haas for the work he manages during consecutive races in Australia and China, and he hopes to show what the team can do.
“It wasn’t long ago, but we were last dead in Melbourne, and that seemed difficult,” he admitted. “But we didn’t sleep much – we couldn’t eat much in Ayao’s words – but it was all worth it because we discussed everything about where to unlock the car performance.
“Obviously, it’s a good surprise to see that we can still improve even further. That’s one of us. So, that’s a very good sign. But honestly, an amazing turnaround from the team – back to Maranello and Bunbury, we’re proud of everyone.
“So, well done to them, and the double point for us is huge. He was out of position so it’s really great to see him come back to another strategy. We made it work.