Haas has signed Esteban Ocon to a multi-year contract - the 27-year-old Frenchman set to become the first grand prix race winner to drive for the American outfit since its debut in 2016.

Ocon, who also debuted in Formula 1 in 2016, savoured the top step of the podium winning the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix for Alpine.

With 146 career starts in Formula 1, Ocon has competed for Manor Racing, Force India, Renault and Alpine - amassing 425 points with three podium finishes to his credit, including his Hungarian Grand Prix triumph. 2022 marked Ocon's strongest finish in the Drivers' Championship placing eighth overall by season's end. He currently holds three top 10 finishes in the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship with tenth place finishes in Miami, Canada and Spain respectively.

Ocon's first taste of Formula 1 was a 2014 test with the Lotus F1 Team, currently Alpine, driving the E20 at Circuit de Valencia - engineered that day by none-other than Ayao Komatsu - now Team Principal at Haas.

Today's news means that the only seats still to be filled at those at Mercedes, Alpine, Williams and Stake (Sauber), though RB has yet to confirm its line-up and then, of course, the possible vacancy at Red Bull.

The current drivers still without seats are Carlos Sainz, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, while Daniel Ricciardo has yet to be confirmed.

At Williams, James Vowles has made no secret of the fact that they are looking elsewhere, with Ocon one of those drivers previously linked with the Grove outfit.

It is anticipated that during the summer break, when attention is less focussed on the sport, both Red Bull and Williams could make changes ahead of the second part of the season.

"I'm delighted we've secured Esteban Ocon's services for Haas," said Komatsu. "I've obviously been aware of his talents for a long time and our personal history dates back to Esteban's maiden run in a Formula 1 car - I was his race engineer that day with Lotus. He displayed his talents back then coming off the back of strong performances in the junior categories - he'd just won the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship. Esteban's gone on to become an established talent in Formula 1 and of course a grand prix winner. The experience he brings, not just from his own talent base but also from working for a manufacturer team, will be advantageous to us in our growth as an organization. It was vital we had a driver with experience in beside Oliver Bearman next year, but Esteban's only 27 - he's still young with a lot to prove as well. I think we have a hungry, dynamic driver pairing and I look forward to welcoming Esteban into MoneyGram Haas F1 Team for 2025."

"It was important to me that we have a driver with a known pedigree in Formula 1, and as a grand prix winner, Esteban undoubtedly fits that brief," added Gene Haas. "Esteban's proved himself in the teams he's raced for as someone who's continually in the mix and scoring points - it's that continuity we're keen to capitalize on as we look for increased performance gains on-track. We have a blend of youth and experience in our future driver line-up and I'm excited to see the results."

"I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my Formula 1 career and join Haas from the start of the 2025 season," said Ocon. "I'll be joining a very ambitious racing team, whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory has really impressed me. I'd like to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for their trust and support, and for our honest and fruitful discussions these last few months. On a more personal note, I'm very happy to be working with Ayao again, as he's been a part of my debut when I first stepped into a Formula 1 car during my Lotus Junior days more than ten years ago.

"Haas has exciting plans and clear targets for the future, and I'm very much looking forward to working with everyone in Kannapolis, Banbury and Maranello, and being part of this great project."