After a difficult 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying session, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon started Sunday’s race from the back row in P19, four places behind teammate Oliver Bearman who lined up P15. However, despite Haas’ VF-25 lacking the pace of their rivals, Ocon was able to gain a few places. Having started on the medium compound tyres, he took advantage of an early Safety Car, brought out when Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly collided at Turn 1, to make an early pit stop. He then completed the remaining 49 laps of the race on hard tyres. This early pitstop helped him gain places on some of his midfield rivals. He finished P14 after giving up his place to teammate Bearman in the closing stages of the race.
Early pit stop put Ocon “into the best position” for race
When asked about the effect of this early pit stop on his race, Ocon admitted that it had put him “into the best position” to take advantage of any opportunities that could present themselves. While he failed to score points from the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP race, Ocon believes that the strategy employed was the correct one.
“I think we put ourselves in the best position in the beginning and if anything would have happened we would have consolidated the place. That was the intention behind the strategy and I think it was the correct one.”
2025 F1 Saudi Arabian GP race performance “a bit of a negative” for Haas
While not overly disappointed with his performance in Jeddah, however, the Frenchman admitted that it was a “bit of a negative” to leave Saudi Arabia without new points. He added that with the team having collected a variety of data on the different issues affecting the VF-25 at the different circuits, the team could focus on preparing for the upcoming Miami GP.
“Now, obviously, coming away from that triple, I think there was some positive, but also we finished with a bit of a negative one on the last one. But overall, we scored a good amount of points as a team. Good in Suzuka for Ollie [Bearman], good for me in Bahrain, a bit worse for both of us here.”
“We obviously need to put the pieces of the puzzle together and come with the right one every single time because we faced different issues all the way through the triple [header] and this is what hurts us a little bit.”
“So, we need to come up with some info after that race. Hopefully, we will have.”
Ocon concluded, “Hopefully, we can come strong in Miami.”
Haas need to review Saudi Arabian GP performance to identify issues with one-lap speed
When asked if the VF-25 lacked one-lap pace, with Haas typically performing better in the races than in Qualifying sessions, Ocon acknowledged that it could be true. However, he stated that further review was needed, as in Bahrain especially, his performance in both sessions had been on par.
“I think that has been true in other tracks,” Ocon said when asked about the VF-25’s apparent lack of pace in Saturday’s Qualifying, “I need to see for here.”
“Obviously, in Bahrain, I don’t think so. I think we finished where we were, which was a good thing. I think in the other ones, yeah, probably that was the case [but] I don’t know about Suzuka.”
“We will obviously review everything, and hopefully come back with some good searches,” Ocon concluded.
