Ocon erupts in Canada over F1 exit rumours: Source of controversy identified

The French driver, who drives for the Haas F1 Team, had witnessed his name being heralded much of the Formula 1 rumour mill about him being the next possible exit from the sport. Specifically, the report detailed Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu as not being a fan of the French driver and further not being happy with his current performance.

It further added that it was uncertain if the former Alpine driver would remain at the American outfit until the conclusion of the current campaign. The report further claimed the gap between Ocon and current teammate Oliver Bearman, which has widened this year, could further negatively affect the French driver’s position within the team, before concluding by noting the strained nature of the relationship between Ocon and Komatsu, particularly deteriorating after an incident last time out at the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

The rumour itself has not escaped the attention of Ocon, with the Haas driver particularly addressing the speculation with some rather strong and colourful words. Speaking with GPblog among other media at the Canadian Grand Prix, the Frenchman firmly dismissed the rumours surrounding his future, describing the recent reports as completely fabricated and accusing sections of the media of spreading nonsense.

“Honestly, complete bull***t, to be honest. It's unbelievable. I mean, we were just talking with Ayao just now. The article I saw was calling him Ryo Komatsu, which is quite funny. And they were even saying that we had a massive dispute in Miami. It's complete nonsense. Honestly, it's all fabricated and complete bull***t,” he said.

“As I said, I came to this team for the reason that I have known Ayao for so long. I have a great relationship with him. That's always been the case. There's nothing like what people have been saying going on. It's completely not true. I'm fully focused on what I have to do, the job I have to do with the team. You know, I'm fully on board with the team for the whole year,” Ocon added.

“I've got a contract with the team. I will tell you more later, but honestly, it's crazy how things have escalated. And honestly, I try not to pay too much attention, but when it gets so big, it's almost like bullying in a way. I feel good. I feel relaxed in the team. We're doing a great job in the last couple of races. It's been, unfortunately, a bit tricky at the beginning, as we know, with safety cars and stuff. The pace and the base foundation of the work that we are doing are there. So there's nothing wrong going on,” he concluded.

The origin of the report that fuelled the speculation has since been linked to Brazilian journalist Julianne Cerasoli. However, she later issued a clarification on her X account, pushing back against how her comments were interpreted.

In a post quoting the reports about Ocon attributed to her, Cerasoli wrote: “To clarify any misguided translation, I was talking about Rafa Camara's situation at Haas in 2027 and that Komatsu has already publicly called out Ocon. I didn't hear absolutely ANYTHING about any fight in Miami, nor did I comment on anything regarding that matter.”

The situation comes amid heightened sensitivity around driver-media relations, following Max Verstappen’s recent decision to remove The Guardian’s Giles Richards from a media briefing at the Japanese Grand Prix after the journalist previously asked the Dutch driver a question relating to his narrow 2025 title defeat to Lando Norris.