Motor racing-Ocon declares himself a 'free agent' amid speculation over F1 future赛车运动——奥康在F1未来去向猜测中宣布自己是“自由人”。
BAKU, Sept 23 (Reuters) - French driver Esteban Ocon on Wednesday declared himself a free agent from next year and said he was talking to other teams amid speculation about whether he would remain with current Formula One employers Haas.
Formula One F1 - Dutch Grand Prix - Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands - August 23, 2026 Haas' Esteban Ocon ahead of the race REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
BAKU, Sept 23 (Reuters) - French driver Esteban Ocon on Wednesday declared himself a free agent from next year and said he was talking to other teams amid speculation about whether he would remain with current Formula One employers Haas.
“At the moment I’m definitely a free agent for next year,” Ocon told reporters at the Baku street circuit on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“There are things in discussion that are out of my control, there are certain topics that are out of my control.
“I will keep pushing until the end of the year and see how it goes.”
When asked if he was talking to other teams, Ocon said, “Of course, yeah.”
“Let’s see,” he added when asked if continuing with Haas was still an option.
Ocon, 30, who took the sole win of his Formula One career so far at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine, joined American outfit Haas last year in an all-new line-up with Briton and Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman.
He has scored three points to Bearman’s 18 this year and sits 18th of 23 drivers in the overall standings. But he is the team’s most recent points scorer with a ninth-place finish in Monaco.
Bearman, 21, is 13th in the overall standings.
There was speculation earlier in the year about whether Ocon would see out the season with the Ferrari-powered team following media reports of a rift with team boss Ayao Komatsu.
Ocon in May dismissed the reports as “fabricated with no foundation”.
Haas, who scored points in five of the opening six races but have drawn a blank since Ocon’s Monaco effort back in June, are yet to confirm their 2027 driver line-up.
But multiple media reports have identified Ferrari-backed Brazilian Rafael Camara, currently second in the Formula 2 standings, as favourite to replace Ocon.
The Frenchman, however, defended his performances this season.
“My performance hasn’t been an issue this year,” he said.
“I’ve performed every time I had the car.
“I’ve been the last one to score in Monaco, I was almost scoring (at the last race) in Madrid.
“There’s been a lot of times where I’ve performed when the car was underperforming.”
(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Baku; editing by Toby Davis)
Thank you for your report!
一级方程式 F1 - 荷兰大奖赛 - 荷兰赞德沃特赛道 - 2026 年 8 月 23 日，Haas 的 Esteban Ocon 在比赛前 REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
巴库，9 月 23 日（路透社）——法国车手埃斯特班·奥康周三宣布，他从明年起将成为自由车手，并表示他正在与其他车队洽谈，此前外界猜测他是否会继续留在目前的一级方程式车队哈斯。
“目前我明年肯定是自由车手，”奥康周三在巴库街道赛道告诉记者，当时距离周六的阿塞拜疆大奖赛还有一段时间。
“有些事情是我无法控制的，有些话题是我无法控制的。”
“我会一直努力到年底，看看结果如何。”
当被问及是否与其他球队进行过洽谈时，奥康说：“当然，是的。”
当被问及继续留在哈斯车队是否仍然是一个选择时，他补充道：“让我们拭目以待。”
30 岁的奥康在 2021 年匈牙利大奖赛上驾驶 Alpine 赛车赢得了他迄今为止 F1 生涯的唯一一场胜利。去年，他加入了美国哈斯车队，与英国车手、法拉利青年车手奥利弗·贝尔曼组成了全新的阵容。
他今年只得了3分，而贝尔曼得了18分，他在总积分榜上23名车手中排名第18位。但他是车队最近一位获得积分的车手，在摩纳哥站比赛中获得了第九名。
21岁的贝尔曼在总排名中位列第13名。
今年早些时候，媒体报道称奥康与法拉利车队老板小松绫男之间存在分歧，因此有人猜测奥康是否会留在法拉利车队完成本赛季的比赛。
奥康在五月份驳斥了这些报道，称其“毫无根据地捏造了事实”。
哈斯车队在前六场比赛中的五场都获得了积分，但自奥康六月份在摩纳哥取得积分以来，他们就再也没有获得过积分。目前，哈斯车队尚未确认其 2027 年的车手阵容。
但多家媒体报道称，目前在F2积分榜上排名第二的法拉利支持的巴西车手拉斐尔·卡马拉是取代奥康的热门人选。
然而，这位法国人为自己本赛季的表现进行了辩护。
“我今年的表现一直没出过问题，”他说。
“我每次拥有这辆车的时候都会进行表演。”
“我是最后一个在摩纳哥得分的，在马德里（上一场比赛）我也差点得分。
“很多时候，即使赛车性能不佳，我依然能发挥出色。”
（阿比舍克·塔克勒在巴库报道；托比·戴维斯编辑）
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