Esteban Ocon reportedly lost seat after 'physical altercation' with Haas boss as new details emerge

A new report has suggested that Esteban Ocon was abruptly dropped due to a violent wrangle with his Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu.

On Saturday morning of the Mexico City GP weekend, the Haas squad announced that Ocon would not compete for the rest of the weekend, with test driver Ryo Hirakawa stepping in as his replacement.

Now, a source has revealed what might have been the reason for the Frenchman’s sudden departure.

Esteban Ocon in ‘physical altercation’with Haas boss Ayao Komatsu

Ahead of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix, Haas announced that Esteban Ocon would leave the team, with Ferrari junior Rafael Camara named as his replacement.

The Frenchman was clearly unhappy with the decision, saying he “didn’t deserve” to be out of F1.

His anger seemed to carry into Mexico, as Ocon entered into an agitated exchange with his race engineer during the second practice session.

"We've swapped the high tyre run to medium, because Ollie [Bearman]'s appearance is not right," his engineer told him over the radio.

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

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

According to a report from French publication L'Equipe, the argument carried on behind the scenes at Haas.

“According to our sources, the meeting between team principal Ayao Komatsu and Ocon ended abruptly, perhaps even physically, although neither party responded to our requests for comment,” it said.

The newspaper had been due to interview the French driver, but that was suddenly cancelled, with the brief yet unsentimental press release telling the story.

“If Ocon had been ill, it would have been mentioned,” the report added.

“It wasn't, and the very terse ending of the press release suggested that the Frenchman and his team had parted on bad terms Friday evening, at the end of the first day of free practice.

"His name was no longer mentioned, as if to draw a line under this adventure which was destined to end anyway... but at the end of the year."

This abrupt dismissal was unexpected, and at 10 a.m., the mechanics were finishing applying the stickers with his replacement's number.

“The team had agreed to an interview with Ocon, to be published at the Brazilian Grand Prix, about his longevity in F1 and his future in the sport. Nothing suggested it would end this way.”