Tag: Esteban Ocon

Alpine confirms Ocon exit; Doohan to race in Abu Dhabi

Alpine has confirmed that Esteban Ocon has left the team, and that Jack Doohan will race in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As RACER reported on Sunday night after the Qatar Grand Prix, Ocon has driven his final race for Alpine and the team has moved to …

Alpine has confirmed that Esteban Ocon has left the team, and that Jack Doohan will race in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As RACER reported on Sunday night after the Qatar Grand Prix, Ocon has driven his final race for Alpine and the team has moved to run his 2025 replacement Doohan from the final race of this season. Alpine said the switch frees Ocon up to take part in the post-race test for Haas – the team he is joining in 2025 – and paid tribute to the Frenchman in a short statement.

“The team would like to thank Esteban for his time at the team and he will remain part of the team’s history achieving the first win for Alpine in Formula 1,” the statement read. “We wish Esteban the best for the future.”

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Doohan’s appearance will bring the number of drivers to have raced in Formula 1 this year to 24, joining Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, Daniel Ricciardo and Logan Sargeant as having completed partial seasons or made substitute appearances.

Doohan will run the number 61 this weekend as his registered reserve driver number, however the Australian rookie has chosen the number seven for his first full season in the sport next year.

By giving Doohan the chance to drive for a full race weekend at a circuit where he has tested in the past, Alpine gets a first look at its rookie driver before the off-season. That opportunity comes following rumors the team could still consider other options for 2025, particularly with Franco Colapinto still seeking a race seat and understood to bring significant financial backing should he be able to secure a full-time drive.

Ocon set to depart Alpine early, Doohan to race in Abu Dhabi

Esteban Ocon is set to leave Alpine one race before the end of his contract, with Jack Doohan poised to drive in his place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Frenchman is joining Haas in 2025 and has struggled to match teammate Pierre Gasly for spells …

Esteban Ocon is set to leave Alpine one race before the end of his contract, with Jack Doohan poised to drive in his place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Frenchman is joining Haas in 2025 and has struggled to match teammate Pierre Gasly for spells during this season, scoring just five points before his stunning second place in Brazil. Gasly’s fifth place in the Qatar Grand Prix leaves him with eight point-scoring finishes to Ocon’s five, while the qualifying head-to-head between the two is 12-11 in Gasly’s favor, but Ocon has only outqualified his teammate once in the past five races.

After another disappointing qualifying performance in the Qatar Grand Prix — where Ocon was 20th and slowest while Gasly missed out on Q3 by 0.012s — it is understood discussions accelerated relating to a potential early split.

RACER understands a decision has now been made that will see Ocon replaced by Doohan for the final race in Abu Dhabi. Multiple sources indicate an official announcement is not due until Monday.

Alpine is refusing to officially comment, with team principal Oliver Oaks suggesting talks are ongoing.

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“I think there’s been a discussion, yeah,” Oakes said. “I don’t think there’s been a definitive answer yet, but it has been talked about. It’s obviously slightly complex, because as much as he is ours, he is contractually a Mercedes junior as well, or driver. And obviously he’d like to be released early as well.

“I think it comes from all sides, really. I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack in early. I think you could say from Esteban’s side it’s good to move on early. I think it suits everybody. The discussion was quite natural, really. Honestly, Esteban has been a big part of this team as well. From both sides, it suits each other.”

Alpine reserve driver Doohan — already scheduled to race for the team in 2025 — is slated to be in Abu Dhabi regardless, a track where he’s due to drive during the post-race test.

Doohan’s own future has been the center of speculation due to the availability of Franco Colapinto, who is believed to be attracting significant sponsorship should he be able to secure a race seat next season.

Ocon struggling to believe Alpine’s double Sao Paulo podium is real

Esteban Ocon says he is finding it hard to believe that Alpine’s double podium in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is reality. Alpine entered Sunday’s race in ninth place in the constructors’ championship on 16 points, one point behind Williams in the …

Esteban Ocon says he is finding it hard to believe that Alpine’s double podium in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is reality.

Alpine entered Sunday’s race in ninth place in the constructors’ championship on 16 points, one point behind Williams in the standings. In wet conditions, both Ocon and Pierre Gasly excelled as the team also pulled off a brave strategy — running long and benefiting from a red flag — to finish second and third behind Max Verstappen and move up to sixth overall with a 33-point haul.

“I’m not sure that this is a reality or still a dream, but I smell champagne, so I think it is reality,” Ocon said. “It’s been an incredible day. Who would have thought, first of all, that we were going to qualify fourth? We were very, very quick as soon as these conditions poured out today.

“It really levels out the field and it feels great to be just able to fight with other cars, to fight with the guys at the front as well. It shows that we still got it and when there is an opportunity, we are always there to be able to take it.

“We were leading the race at some point. That was a special moment — I was pulling away from Max in that first restart. It was going super well and unfortunately, at the end, the reality check came back and Max was still better than us.

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“It feels extremely great and even greater now because we’ve had a difficult couple of races lately where things didn’t really work the way we wanted for us, but it clearly shows that we’ve still got it when it’s not all about the car and it’s … about driving.”

The result is Ocon’s fifth score of the season, and his previous best finish was a solitary ninth place ahead of three tenths. The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of the season and he says the fact he could celebrate with teammate Gasly — who has been a rival since their junior careers — made it extra special.

“It’s not signed off yet; there’s more races to go, three more,” he said. “If that’s the reward, then I’m very happy to call it … the reward. It’s been five years of good moments, more difficult moments of course, but I’m extremely happy and proud of me and Pierre, to be honest. We’ve had our [struggles] at times but it’s been incredible to do that last formation lap.

“A lot of flashbacks came back to my memories when we were racing on the wet in karts when we were young, even on the snow with the slick tires. We were both racing together waiting for the podium or the win to come and today, it tastes a bit like that. A beautiful story from where we’ve come from and that one will stay forever.”

Alpine frustrations and lack of clarity led to Ocon’s Haas switch

Frustration with a lack of improvement at Alpine was one of the main reasons Esteban Ocon opted to make the switch to Haas, where the Frenchman sees a clear set of future plans. Ocon announced earlier this year that he would be leaving Alpine at the …

Frustration with a lack of improvement at Alpine was one of the main reasons Esteban Ocon opted to make the switch to Haas, where the Frenchman sees a clear set of future plans.

Ocon announced earlier this year that he would be leaving Alpine at the end of this season following five years with the team, with his move to Haas confirmed ahead of the summer break. Amid discussions to close down Renault’s power unit program and with a third team principal in a many years set to start work at Alpine, the team has been unsettled for some time and the technical issues stood out to Ocon as particularly frustrating.

“The decision for me was quite clear quite a long time ago that I wanted a new challenge,” Ocon said. “I wanted to write my own story, and obviously five years in Formula 1 with the same team is a long time in Formula 1 terms.

“We’ve achieved good things; we’ve achieved things a little bit more difficult at times, but yes for sure this season has been frustrating. It’s not a secret to anyone — no one’s happy inside the team with where we are, and there hasn’t been enough of an improvement on some terms and on some technical issues that we had years ago.

“That circle of technical development and improvement, we haven’t been on top of that and we are facing the issues that we had three years ago with the current car, which is not possible in terms of the Formula 1 world.

“But I wish this team the best. We have achieved together my first podium, my first win, and it’s always going to remain special to my heart. I wish them the best for the future but before that we still have a half a season to finish and I hope that I can do my best to finish on a high with this team.”

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In contrast, Ocon says he was impressed by the clear vision that Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has for the coming years, as well as the more recent examples of progress that have resulted in Haas climbing to seventh in the constructors’ championship.

“There’s been a lot of conversations going around the paddock, that is quite clear,” he said. “These conversations started quite a long time ago — mid-season of 2023 is really when they started, but Ayao really convinced me with his words. He’s a person that has a lot of experience in Formula 1, that I’ve been working with from my first steps into Formula 1 as well when I was testing for the first time 10 years ago, and I even know him from a lot longer than that.

“So when we sat down for the first time he explained to me his plans going forward, which were very clear. They [Haas] have a clear target, which is still in humble terms — not showing off, which is what I like as well, but they have very clear plans of improving and they are already starting that, as you can see this year.

“They have been clearly improving their performance, the car itself, and the plans are obviously quite big and quite impressive looking forwards. So it was a decision that I obviously took that I’m very happy with and I’m very excited.”

Ocon confirmed at Haas for 2025 on multi-year deal

Esteban Ocon’s move to Haas has been confirmed, with the Frenchman signing a multi-year deal to race for the team from 2025 onwards. Haas will have an all-new lineup in 2025, having already announced Oliver Bearman as one of its race drivers next …

Esteban Ocon’s move to Haas has been confirmed, with the Frenchman signing a multi-year deal to race for the team from 2025 onwards.

Haas will have an all-new lineup in 2025, having already announced Oliver Bearman as one of its race drivers next season following news of Nico Hulkenberg’s switch to Stake, and Kevin Magnussen also leaving the team. Ocon’s departure from Alpine was confirmed in June and he will become the first grand prix winner to race for Haas since its debut in Formula 1, with the 27-year-old linking up again with Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu.

“I am thrilled to embark on this new chapter in my Formula 1 career and join MoneyGram Haas F1 Team from the start of the 2025 season,” Ocon said. “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. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 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.”

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Komatsu also references the first run for Ocon in an F1 car, and says the fact he has built up so much experience at such a young age — approaching 150 grand prix starts — is one of the reasons he wanted to sign the Frenchman.

“I’m delighted we’ve secured Esteban Ocon’s services for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team,” Komatsu said. “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.”

Team owner Gene Haas was pushing for an experienced driver who could combine performance with a history of success to partner Bearman, who will be entering his rookie season next year.

“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,” Haas said. “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 lineup and I’m excited to see the results.”

Gasly wants to clear the air before Alpine duo line up together

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine should hold talks with its two drivers ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix as he will start alongside teammate Esteban Ocon in Barcelona. Ocon was penalized for making contact with Gasly on the opening lap of the race in …

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine should hold talks with its two drivers ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix as he will start alongside teammate Esteban Ocon in Barcelona.

Ocon was penalized for making contact with Gasly on the opening lap of the race in Monaco two rounds ago, with Alpine and Gasly stating the attempted overtake went against team instructions. The pair will start from seventh and eighth in Spain as Ocon gains a spot due to Sergio Perez’s grid penalty, and Gasly wants talks to take place before the race.

“I think we should [discuss it], based on the recent events,” Gasly said. “As a team, it would be normal, but as a professional I know what I’ve got to do and always kept it very clean — and I always keep it very clean.”

However, Ocon believes talks are not needed and says it’s not unusual for the Alpine drivers to be close to each other on the grid.

“How many times have we started together?” Ocon said. “It has happened once every 30 times. I don’t expect anything tomorrow; it should be fine.”

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Away from the focus on the driver dynamic, the result marks a surprisingly competitive qualifying session for Alpine with both drivers in the top eight, and Gasly says the team needs to understand why it has been so strong in Spain.

“I think no one really saw that coming,” Gasly said. “I always told them it’s nicer when we have to explain why you overperform rather than underperform, but it’s as important for us to find these answers because coming here we definitely didn’t expect to have a Q3 car. Since yesterday, there was some performance and even today it was a very clean session.

“Looking at the gaps, we’re only a tenth and a half from Lewis [Hamilton], and even Carlos [Sainz] — Ferrari managed to win a race not a long time ago — so I must say it’s very strange, but we take it. It was a good quali and I think a very big, good boost of motivation for the team.”

Alpine and Ocon rift grows after Montreal team order

The relationship between Alpine and Esteban Ocon took another hit after both sides criticized each other over a team order late in the Canadian Grand Prix. Ocon was running in eighth place with four laps to go but was suffering what the team says …

The relationship between Alpine and Esteban Ocon took another hit after both sides criticized each other over a team order late in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ocon was running in eighth place with four laps to go but was suffering what the team says was “an energy management problem”, costing him performance and seeing him lose a place to Daniel Ricciardo. Teammate Pierre Gasly was directly behind, and Alpine says it instructed Ocon to let Gasly through at the start of Lap 68 to try and challenge Ricciardo ahead.

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Ocon allowed Gasly through more than a lap later, a decision the team described as too late because by that time Ricciardo had been able to pull two seconds clear, and Gasly could only close that gap by 0.7s on the one full lap of racing left.

With Ocon crossing the line half a second ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine stated it was too risky to ask the drivers to swap positions back at the end of the race, but Ocon insisted he had played the team game and not been fairly treated in return.

“No, it is unexplainable,” Ocon said. “I’ve always respected the instructions that I’ve been given as a driver, and I’ve done that once more. I’m the nice guy!

“I’ve done my part of the job – the team hasn’t, honestly. It is not fair on that race. So I’m very frustrated with how things have been played out. I guess there are a lot of reasons, so we’ll let the benefit of the doubt go on.”

Ocon says he doesn’t understand the initial call from Alpine to let Gasly through, having initially replied “Forget it!” when instructed to do so over team radio.

“No, because we were two and a half seconds behind Daniel,” he said. “In one lap, not even a Red Bull can catch up the gap. So, no, it makes no sense. So either we don’t know what we are doing or we don’t realize how far it is, or it’s something else. It wasn’t the right decision.”

Speaking to Sky Sports, Ocon also stated he has always followed team orders, despite the fallout from Monaco when Alpine claimed Ocon ignored team instructions when trying to overtake Gasly and retiring after making contact with his teammate on the opening lap.

“I am happy for the team to be able to score with both cars, but the order should be reversed on that occasion,” he said. “I got the instructions to let Pierre past with two laps to go to catch Daniel who was two and a half seconds in front and too fast for us. So the call was nonsense.

“I’ve done my part of the job, which is being a team player. I’ve always respected the instructions I’ve been given. It’s always been the case and I’ve never done anything different in my career. I’ve done my part of the job and not the team, and it is very sad.”

Ocon says Alpine exit built over ‘several months’

Esteban Ocon says his target is to remain in Formula 1 but there are no certainties, as he explains how his departure from Alpine was discussed over a number of months. The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of this season after five years with …

Esteban Ocon says his target is to remain in Formula 1 but there are no certainties, as he explains how his departure from Alpine was discussed over a number of months.

The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of this season after five years with the team, with the announcement of the split coming following a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco. Ocon says that incident was not the catalyst for his departure as discussions have gone on for a long time, but hinted there are no guarantees he has another seat confirmed already for 2025.

“We’ve been talking with the team for several months,” Ocon said. “Alpine is a big group, Renault is a big group, and it’s the kind of team that is not taking decisions on just a single race. We’ve been talking, we’ve agreed mutually to come to an end, basically, at the end of the contract.

“I’ve spent five years inside this team. We had some amazing moments, more tough ones, but five years in terms of Formula 1 world is a long time. I’m excited for the challenge ahead and excited to finish the collaboration on a high, that I’ve been part of for a long time.

“I have nothing to announce yet. I will announce my future in due course, when the right time comes. At the moment, I’m just focused on what’s going to be happening this weekend, and what’s going to be in the next coming races. I think it’s good to be doing some racing, which is the most important thing and what I’m excited about.

“I mean, you never know in Formula 1, what the future can [hold]. But as I said, I’m excited for future challenges. I’ve got 16 more races to do and it’s important to do a good job and coming to the races stay motivated as I’ve always been, and enjoy what I do. For sure my target is to be in Formula 1, that is very clear.”

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Ocon insists his impending departure and the fallout from the collision in Monaco will not have a negative impact on the rest of this season with Alpine.

“It doesn’t, because we’ve come to speak all together with the team. I talked with Bruno [Famin, team principal], I was at the factory for normal preparation before the weekend, but also had a chat with Bruno.

“We were just talking about a lot of things –there was no awkward moment, there is no damage between our relationships altogether. Everything has been discussed and we move on.

“What I want to do is try to do the best I can for the rest of the season, finish on a high with the team, with the story that we started. I think that’s very important for me. I’ve joined the team in 2020 and I’ve always [been] trying to do the best that I could and for the team, so that will remain.”

Alpine and Ocon agree to part ways at the end of season

Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of this season, with both sides saying they “have agreed together to part ways” at the conclusion of his current contract. Alpine has endured a tough start to 2024, scoring just two points in total and …

Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of this season, with both sides saying they “have agreed together to part ways” at the conclusion of his current contract.

Alpine has endured a tough start to 2024, scoring just two points in total and currently sitting ninth in the constructors’ championship. Ocon scored the first of those points in Miami, but came under fire from team principal Bruno Famin after causing a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly on the opening lap in Monaco.

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While Ocon is still set to race for the team for the remainder of the year, it has now been confirmed that he will leave at the end of the season, with Audi and Haas two potential destinations for the 27-year-old.

“It’s been a significant period of my life to be racing at this team in Formula 1,” Ocon said. “While I’ve been here for five years as a full-time racing driver, my professional career started at Enstone back when I was a teenager, so it will always be a special place for me.

“We have had some great moments together, some tough moments as well, and I am certainly grateful to everyone at the team for these memorable times. I will announce my plans very soon but, in the meantime, my full focus is on delivering on track for this team and having a successful remainder of the season.”

Ocon has finished on the podium twice for Alpine on top of a surprise victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, and Famin says the target will be to ensure more strong results over the remainder of the year.

“We would like to firstly thank Esteban for his commitment to the team for the past five years,” Famin said. “During his time, we have celebrated some fantastic moments together, the best of which coming at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with a memorable race win.

“We still have 16 races to complete in 2024 together with a clear objective: to continue to work tirelessly as a team to push for the best on-track results. We wish Esteban the very best for the next chapter of his driving career when that moment comes.”

With neither side confirming their 2025 plans, Alpine remains an outside option for Carlos Sainz once he leaves Ferrari, but could also look to promote reserve driver Jack Doohan who has impressed in private tests.

Gasly wants Alpine discussions after Ocon defies ‘clear instructions’

Pierre Gasly says he was shocked by Esteban Ocon’s attempted move on him at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix and suggests it went against pre-race instructions given to them by Alpine. Ocon attempted to pass Gasly down the inside of Portier on the …

Pierre Gasly says he was shocked by Esteban Ocon’s attempted move on him at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix and suggests it went against pre-race instructions given to them by Alpine.

Ocon attempted to pass Gasly down the inside of Portier on the opening lap but the angle into the corner meant he was unable to leave a car’s width on the exit and his left rear hit Gasly’s right front, launching Ocon into the air. While it was Ocon who retired, the stewards handed him what was converted into a five-place grid penalty at his next race for what they described as an “overly ambitious overtaking attempt”, and Gasly wants discussions with his teammate as a result.

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“I was quite shocked and it was very unnecessary. We should never have such a situation, especially between teammates,” Gasly said. “I’m just sad, disappointed with the situation, and especially as we had clear instructions before the race on what to do and whoever qualified ahead, the trailing car was supposed to help throughout the race with the strategy, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.

“We definitely need to speak because we can’t afford [collisions], especially in a season like this, a point or two that might be crucial at the end of the year. We’ve just got to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Elaborating on the pre-race discussions, Gasly claims Ocon was supposed to be helping ensure the lead Alpine could maximize its result, but says it’s not the first time the pair have been involved in incidents together.

“Honestly it was set in the strategy that whoever qualifies ahead will get the priority on the strategy and the guy behind will play a bit more of a support role. Obviously absolutely no risk on a track like that and really try to benefit from having the two cars in such a position.

“We know what’s happened and I think what’s most important for me is just to make sure that it doesn’t happen in the future. We came close already a couple of times, too many times, we discussed about it and we just need to be clear.”

Gasly went on to finish 10th after being able to take the restart following a red flag in his original position, but he says when the collision occurred Ocon risked both of them being able to score.

“At that time we were P9 and P10, so there’s absolutely no reason to try or risk to get both cars out,” Gasly said. “You can’t really rewrite the story, so you’ll never know if things could have been differently, but for sure we were in a strong position as a team, especially with the two cars ahead of us, and I feel genuinely that I had the pace to try something and we could be quite smart.

“We had a different scenario planned in terms of strategy. Unfortunately we couldn’t work it that way, but we’ll never know. At the end of the day I think we did the best we could because after the incident I got a puncture on my hard tire, restarted with the medium tires, and had to do 75 or 76 laps on medium, which wasn’t planned.

“It was just a very strange race with a very slow pace at the start, but to keep in mind the long game and making sure that the two Aston Martins behind me – with [Fernando] Alonso opening a free pit stop for [Lance] Stroll – so I had to keep some tires alive for the second part of the race in case Stroll would catch me back.

“There was quite a lot going on. I’m just happy for the team, we managed to get to the end and grab that point.”