Esteban Ocon launches sweary Azerbaijan GP qualifying outburst: ‘I don’t deserve this’
Esteban Ocon launched a fiery outburst following a Q2 elimination in Baku on Friday
Haas Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon launched a foul-mouthed outburst following a Q2 exit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, stating that “I don’t deserve this s***”.
The Frenchman had been in solid form through the practice sessions at the Baku street circuit.
But come qualifying, he failed to advance out of the second segment and was only 14th-fastest and three places down on team-mate Ollie Bearman.
Esteban Ocon caught a yellow flag on his final Q2 run, which he feels “was going to be a mega one”.
In a stunning outburst, he branded his Q2 exit in Baku “the story of my season”.
“It was going to be a mega one; it was going to be a Q3 lap at the end there,” he said.
“But, unfortunately, we got the yellow flag. It’s the story of my season; different race, same story.
“Either it’s something that the car is not working, and there is an issue on the car, or when the car is working well there’s something falling on my back.
“So, I’m solid to an extent, but you can’t do anything when that’s happening.
“And I don’t think I deserve all that shit that’s going on on my back. I’m very pissed off, because I deserved to be in Q3 today and we couldn’t show it.
“But the car is performing and that is a positive.”
He added: “There is potential, but every driver is out there to do their best and I’m starting five positions [down] from where I should have started. So, it’s tough to take really.”
Is F1 future uncertainty getting to the one-time race winner?
Ocon’s “I don’t deserve this shit on my back” comment comes as he is widely expected to lose his place with Haas for the 2027 season.
And with an option at Cadillac looking unlikely at this stage, Ocon’s time in F1 could well be coming to an end.
On Wednesday ahead of the Baku weekend, he told reporters that he is “a free agent” for 2027, though Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu said Ocon remained an option.
“There are things in discussion that are out of my control,” Ocon said on Wednesday.
“There are certain topics that are out of my control. So, I will keep pushing until the end of the year and see how it goes.”
