Esteban Ocon issues statement as he addresses Mexico GP situation

Esteban Ocon has denied getting into a physical altercation with his Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu following his removal from the car in Mexico this weekend.

The Frenchman was suddenly stood down from his position following a fractious second practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday.

Reports then emerged that he and Haas principal Komatsu were involved in a violent exchange, which he has now denied.

Esteban Ocon issues statement after ‘physical altercation’ reports

There was a shock announcement on Saturday morning that Ocon would play no further part in this weekend’s Mexico City GP, with test driver Ryo Hirakawa replacing him.

The team had already announced that he would be replaced at the end of the season by Rafael Camara, but now it appears the Frenchman’s tenure may have come to an early close.

Following this, French newspaper L’Equipe reported that there may have been a ‘physical altercation’ between himself and his team boss, but Ocon has now refuted this.

In a statement on his social media channels, he wrote: “Following the recent decision from Haas F1 Team confirming that I will not be participating in this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, I wish to formally address some media reports and speculation surrounding the situation.

“Last night, a difference in viewpoints led to a discussion with the parties involved. Whilst I acknowledge that this took place, I categorically reject any reports or allegations suggesting that any form of physical violence was used to resolve any differences of any nature.

“I strongly condemn violence in all its forms and firmly believe that disagreements should always be handled with professionalism, respect, and mutual understanding.

“I kindly ask that speculation be avoided while the matter is being addressed."

He added: “Further updates will be communicated in due course.”

The disagreement that led to Esteban Ocon being stood down by Haas F1 team

Ocon was clearly unhappy at losing his grand prix seat prior to the Malaysian GP in Bahrain, telling media that he "didn't deserve" to be out of F1.

The dissatisfaction with his situation carried on into the Mexico City GP's second practice session, with driver having a testy exchange with his engineer Laura Muller over his tyre runs.

"We've swapped the high fuel run to medium, because Ollie [Bearman]'s appearance is not right," Muller told him on the radio.

"I'm still doing soft, right?" Ocon asked. "No, we're still doing medium," came the answer.

"No, no. I want to do soft... don't do that to me, come on," Ocon said before finishing: "Yeah, it is my turn this weekend, so come on."

The day after this exchange, Ocon was replaced by Hirakawa.

Ocon's teammate Ollie Bearman gives his take on Haas situation

One main contributor to Ocon losing his drive to Camara was the performance deficit to teammate Ollie Bearman, with the Brit leading the charge for Haas this year.

The Brit gave his take on developments following qualifying:

"It's a tricky situation within the team, but I'm not fully involved in the inner workings of what's gone on," he said.

"I can say is that it's not a happy situation for anybody, but I'm also very happy for Ryo to get his chance in Formula 1 - that's what every driver dreams of growing up.

"Happy for him, and we'll do our best tomorrow to to score a good result - we'll keep our heads up, and we'll do our very best."