Esteban Ocon reveals his witty comment to both Charles Leclerc and Fred Vasseur after the Ferrari duo were disqualified in the F1 Chinese GP

Haas F1 driver Esteban Ocon made a cheeky comment to the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur after the Italian team had a double disqualification at the end of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. The Frenchman had an excellent race at the Shanghai International Circuit after scoring his first points for the American team last weekend.

The 28-year-old started the main race in P11, which was his highest qualifying position with his new team. He made a terrific start to the race and found himself in P8 which he quickly converted to a P7 after a stunning overtake on Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.

Ocon consolidated his P7 and ended his race with six points to his name. However, he was promoted two further places to P5 after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified from the main race for having an underweight car and excessive plank wear respectively.

Speaking with Canal+, Esteban Ocon revealed that he was with Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur on the same flight after the race and made a witty comment to the pair, saying:

"I was on the same flight as Charles, his engineers, and Fred Vasseur. We were all together, we had just learnt the news so I shook hands with Fred and Charles and I said ‘I'm sorry for you but I'm happy for me!'"

The double DSQ also meant that Esteban Ocon's teammate Oliver Bearman moved up two places to P8 and ended up scoring 14 points for the Haas F1.

Esteban Ocon reflects on his P5 finish at the Chinese GP

Haas F1 driver Esteban Ocon stated that the mood in the team had shifted completely with their superb performances in China given that they were riddled with questions after the season opener in Australia.

Speaking with F1.com, the 2021 Hungarian GP winner said:

“It was not many days ago that we were dead last in Melbourne and it was looking difficult. We didn’t sleep much, I couldn’t eat very much – in the words of Ayao but it was all worth it because we discussed everything on where to unlock that performance from the car.

“We knew there was more performance to be had. Obviously, it’s a good surprise to see that. We still can improve more and that’s where we are, so it’s a very good sign. But it’s an amazing turnaround from the team. I’m proud of everyone back in Maranello and Banbury. They’ve done an amazing job, putting their hearts out in trying to find solutions," he added.

Esteban Ocon had a slow start to the 2025 campaign before the main race in China as he had not featured in the Top 10 in any of the competitive sessions thus far with Haas.