EXCLUSIVE: Esteban Ocon on lost Mercedes drive and why he won’t give up on F1 title

Esteban Ocon’s F1 career could have taken a very different turn had he joined Mercedes in 2020.

The 28-year-old Frenchman would have partnered Lewis Hamilton at a team during the peak of their powers and boasting one of the most dominant F1 cars of all time. The W11 secured 13 wins and 15 pole positions from 17 races as Mercedes stormed to both world championship titles for a seventh consecutive season.

It is impossible to know whether Ocon would have been able to muster a championship challenge against prime Hamilton, but he would likely have several grand prix victories and pole position under his belt.

As it turned out, Mercedes opted to re-sign Valtteri Bottas, while Ocon, who had spent a year on the sidelines after seeing his Force India seat taken by Lance Stroll, would go on to join Renault (now Alpine).

How close did Ocon come to Mercedes?

According to Ocon, he came very close to being promoted to a seat at the works Mercedes team.

“For sure, at some point, it's always close,” he says. “The end of 2018, beginning of 2019 was a very odd one where I had a lot of signed contracts but for various political reasons, I ended up not having a seat.

“That could have been very different. It could have been a very successful 2019, so it’s a shame.”

Ocon insists he has “no regrets” about missing out on a Mercedes seat, acknowledging that he has “always been at the wrong place at the wrong time”.

Indeed, had Nico Rosberg retired a year later, it might of been Ocon - who contested the second half of the 2016 season with F1 minnows Manor - instead of Bottas who got the nod to replace the exiting world champion.

“In 2016, I just did half a year and then Nico [Rosberg] retired. If Nico retired in 2017 at the end of the year, I'm pretty sure things probably would have been different,” he explains.

“I was supposed to have a much better year in 2019 than I had, even though I learned a lot alongside Mercedes. The drivers were performing in 2019, so I completely understood the fact that it made no sense for me to get there because Valtteri and Lewis were doing a great job.”

Ocon spent five seasons at Alpine and picked up his first and only race win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix before the relationship soured, culminating in his departure and move to Haas for the 2025 season.

“I signed for Renault and we had big hopes, but we know the end and how things have turned out and how some people didn't have the same ideas I had to push forward and help the team take the next step,” Ocon reflects.

“Now I'm entering a team which has a big will to perform and improve, but a team which is very realistic with the chances that it has. We know where we are and we have the right mindset. We just need to build a better car to be able to fight. We'll see next year where that is.”

Hating the ‘politics’ of F1

One element of F1 Ocon has always resented is the politics involved in the sport. He has learned first hand about the ruthless nature of politicking, and is now wise to it.

“You can only do what you can do and have it in your control,” says Ocon, whose career is still managed by Mercedes and Toto Wolff.

“The thing is, I've learned a lot about that side of the sport now. It's the side of the sport that I hate. It's all these politicians on top which have the power.

"We are the athletes of the sport, obviously. It's two very different mindsets that we have. But you need to play with it. You need to be playing with that to get your best interest out of that.

“I was completely out of this conversation until that happened in 2019. Now, I'm very much more involved in all these decisions.

“I have the same [management] team since 2012, actually maybe even before 2010. The same people managing my career, which is very good. I'm much more involved in those conversations and knowing what's happening.”

Refusing to give up on F1 title dream

Despite knowing he has little realistic chance of winning with Haas in the short-term, Ocon’s ultimate goal to win a world title remains unchanged. 

“Obviously, we know what we have to do this year but then we never know in Formula 1 what can come,” Ocon says, with one eye to F1’s regulation overhaul for 2026 that could reset the pecking order.

“My job is to do the best job I can with the car I get. And hopefully, one day, have the chance to fight for world titles.”

Speaking about his mindset, Ocon adds: “It will never change. I think the day that you accept the fact that you can't win, I think that's the day where you need to retire.

“I will never accept that I can't win because I know I can. I know I've beaten a lot of guys in the past that are fighting at the top now. I've won a race, so I've shown that I'm capable.

“I know that I can do it, but it's not for now. We’ll re-put it for later on the table. I know I can do it, so I should never accept it.”