Esteban Ocon was left disappointed but composed after retiring from the 2025 Imola Grand Prix, following an early strategic gamble that initially looked promising but quickly unraveled. The Frenchman’s race came to an early end on lap 29 when his Haas was parked at the side of the track, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
Despite the DNF in Imola, Ocon remained positive about the team’s underlying progress, but acknowledged the weekend had been one of confusion and inconsistency — a theme that has dogged Haas’ season so far.
Early gamble, early exit
Starting from the lower end of the grid, Ocon managed to gain positions early on, passing Nico Hülkenberg and rookie Franco Colapinto in the opening laps. But Haas’ bold decision to pit him at the end of Lap 1 raised eyebrows. Ocon said the call came earlier than expected, though initially the strategy looked to be paying off.
“It was the strategy plan. I had a good start, I made a couple of positions which was good. I overtook Nico [Hülkenberg], I overtook Franco [Colapinto],” Ocon explained.
“Then I got the call from the team to box. I thought it was going to be a bit later but they said box now, so I boxed. Which was good initially because we made quite a lot of lap time over the cars in front.”
Once the rest of the field began their stops, Ocon found himself ahead of several rivals. But that progress was short-lived.
“We picked up a lot of degradation from there, which is not really clear why that was that much. So yeah, we’ll review a lot of things from this weekend. It’s been a tricky one.”
“They [the team] had a couple of laps warning. They tried to keep me out, but it wasn’t going to work.”
Inconsistencies still haunting Haas
Though Haas brought updates to Imola, Ocon said the new parts weren’t the issue. Instead, the challenge lies in unlocking consistent performance across varying track conditions and weekends.
“The factory has done good work with the updates. These are not our issues. We’re just fighting with a few consistency things across the car, across weekends. This is what we need to fix.”
In Miami, Ocon had shown flashes of potential on Saturday, but that pace has proved elusive over full race distances. Something that has become a recurring theme.
“We’re just unfortunately too inconsistent and have too many issues recently.”
Hope for Monaco: A circuit of opportunity
Looking ahead to next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, Ocon sees an opportunity for Haas to reset. Given the tight, twisty nature of the Monte Carlo circuit — where qualifying is king — he believes a more stable base setup could bring them back into points contention.
“It should be good if we come up with a solid base and a healthy car, let’s say. If we basically manage to optimise, we have a chance for points. For most races, we have a chance to fight for top 10s.”
This year’s Monaco GP is expected to include a two-stop race strategy — a rare occurrence at a circuit known more for its processional races than tire tactics. Ocon is intrigued by the shake-up.
“Usually, you push hard, you try, and clear people out of your first stop. And then you just control the pace from the second stop. But this time it’s going to be very different, so it’s exciting.”
A reset in Monaco?
Imola may have ended in disappointment, but Ocon’s measured tone reflects a driver confident that the foundations are slowly improving. With Monaco’s unique demands offering a new kind of challenge — one less dependent on outright car pace — Ocon and Haas will be eager to show what they can do on the streets of Monte Carlo.
