Esteban Ocon has claimed that Ollie Bearman is the Formula 1 teammate “I get along the best with,” as the pair continue their second season together at Haas.
The Frenchman made the brave pivot from longstanding team Alpine to the American, Silverstone-based squad for 2025, and was paired with the British rookie in his first full season.
Together, the pair took nine points finishes each to amass 79 in total – the second-highest in its history – to cement a solid foundation for 2026.
After seven races, the duo have already scored 21 points between them, with Bearman receiving widespread praise for his speed and maturity.
Ocon has an impressive compendium of teammates throughout his career, including Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo, but has also endured a few intra-team flashpoints with Sergio Perez at Force India and Pierre Gasly at Alpine.
And Ocon, speaking exclusively to Motorsport Week, conveyed a sense of great kinship with his young British counterpart.
“Yeah, I think it’s awesome to be teaming up with him,” he said. “He’s probably the teammate I get along the best with.
“I really have fun when we do things outside the track, for marketing. We spend a lot of time together, which is very good.
“He’s a very fun character off the track, which is very nice, and very dedicated to the professional aspect of what we need to do when we are inside the engineering office. He’s very fast, of course, but it’s good that we can push each other.
“It’s good that there is such a great atmosphere between both sides, and I hope that this will continue.”
Ocon will be hopeful for another points finish to help rebuff speculation about his future with the team at the Austrian Grand Prix next week, and the form book is promising, having taken 10th place at the Red Bull Ring last year.
Originally published by motorsportweek.com —
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