F1 insider Peter Windsor predicts that Esteban Ocon will take legal action against Haas after his shock replacement at the Mexican Grand Prix.

After being replaced by Ryo Hirakawa for FP1, Ocon got in his car for FP2 as normal on Friday, but that could turn out to be the final F1 session of his season.

A tense radio exchange with his race engineer over a change of their run plan made it clear that there was tension between driver and team, and ahead of FP3 on Saturday, it was confirmed that Ocon would take no further part in Mexico City, with Hirakawa back in the car for the rest of the weekend.

We already knew that Ocon would not be at Haas in 2027, but news of his replacement in Mexico came as a major shock, with Haas offering no comment on the change other than that he was not ill.

Ocon himself later released his own statement, denying reports that any 'physical violence' led to his departure.

Windsor predicts legal troubles for Haas

At this stage, Haas have not confirmed whether Ocon will be back in the car for next weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix and the remainder of the F1 season.

If not, Windsor thinks that legal proceedings could eventually be brought by the driver.

"Not impressed actually with what Haas are doing there and their lack of man management skills," Windsor said on his YouTube channel.

"Whether or not you like a driver, whether or not he's going to be leaving the team at the end of the year, I don't think this is on, and I think it's a very bad look.

"Certainly, bad look for the team, and not a good look for Formula 1 either in that they're allowed to do that.

"I mean, Bernie [Ecclestone] went out of his way when he was creating the Concorde Agreement back in 1981 to say that every team must run two cars at every race. The cars must be designed and built by the team.

"You can't buy any proprietary chassis anymore. That was the big thing, and it must be the same two drivers throughout the year, unless there's a force majeure.

"So I don't see how they can do this. To me, it's very wrong, and no doubt I suspect there'll be some legal action after this, and we'll have to see what happens. Watch this space."

What do F1 rules say about driver changes?

Though Windsor refers to a previous Concorde Agreement, the current F1 regulations set out the rules on driver changes in the sport in Article B1.7.1 of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.

Those regulations state:

• B1.7.1: During a Championship, each Competitor will be permitted to use a maximum of four (4) drivers in Races, and any new driver may score points in the Championship.
• B1.7.2: Provided any change proposed after the end of initial scrutineering receives the consent of the stewards, a change of driver may be made:
  • a. At each Competition where a sprint session is not scheduled, at any time before the start of the qualifying session.
  • b. At each Competition where a sprint session is scheduled, at any time before the start of the sprint qualifying session for a driver who will participate in the sprint session, or at any time before the start of the qualifying session for a driver who will participate in the Race.
• Force majeure: Additional changes for reasons of force majeure will be considered separately.

Haas are not the only team to make a mid-season driver change, either, with Red Bull having made several switches over the years. Of course, we are not privy to the details of Ocon's contract with the team.