Ocon has shot himself in the foot, says Button: Who will sign him now?

Esteban Ocon has a knack for falling out with management and burning all his bridges. It has happened at Haas too, with the team now wanting nothing more to do with the French driver. Jenson Button admitted he was frustrated by Ocon’s short-sighted approach to his career.

Esteban Ocon reportedly fell out with his own team because he was unhappy with the strategy in second practice. He was given medium tyres rather than softs, as Bearman needed to extend his preparations on the soft compound. That did not anger Ocon. However, we still do not know exactly what happened in Friday’s briefing.

Some media outlets reported that there was even a physical altercation during the briefing. Ocon firmly denied this. Germany’s Bild later clarified what the alleged physical confrontation involved: as team principal Ayao Komatsu was about to leave the office, Ocon reportedly grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him from leaving. That was the final straw for Komatsu.

“It’s always difficult for a driver when you know the team is looking at someone else for the following year and you’re out,” said Jenson Button during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. “But the best thing for him to do to for number one, which is himself is to drive as hard as he can and work as hard as he can and show how good he is.”

Ocon tried to do that, at least in front of the media. Whenever he was asked about his future, he began listing his achievements, from karting championships through to Formula 1. According to Jenson Button, however, he should have focused on his work on track rather than reciting his CV.

“He can’t do that anymore because of a disagreement on tyres in practice. It’s not even qualifying or the race, it’s practice. So that frustrates me when I see that,” he said, sighing in disbelief at Ocon’s short-sightedness. “Because these are 22 of the best drivers in the world, you don’t get this opportunity easily and he’s possibly just thrown away the rest of his career in F1.”

Ocon is known for putting himself first. He had to leave Racing Point after numerous clashes with team-mate Sergio Pérez. At Alpine, he also infuriated Fernando Alonso, who, after their battle at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix, was relieved that he would no longer have Ocon as a team-mate: “It’s far from ideal when it’s your team mate, but it’s been a little like this [with Ocon] all year long,” he said, referring to their battles, which frequently resulted in contact. “It’s one more race and then it’s over, finally.”

After losing Alonso and Piastri, Alpine opted for an all-French line-up. But a familiar scenario played out again: Ocon was unable to work with his team-mate, this time Pierre Gasly. Ocon duly moved to Haas after the 2024 season. Another split is proof that the 30-year-old never learns.

“He at the end of this year he’s not going to be racing for the team in 2027. He’s known that for quite a while. He has to look for other drives. So this little dispute, it hurts his career,” said Jenson Button. “Basically, for me, I would say who’s going to want to pick him up if he’s not willing to be a team player, and he’s proven that probably he’s not that team player right now.”

“I think the speed is there with Esteban. That’s the thing. But it’s out of the car that he’s let himself down. But we don’t know the full story, so it’s a little bit unfair of me to say that,” he added.