- Paddock rumblings: Esteban Ocon will apparently step away from Alpine early, freeing up a seat for Australia’s Jack Doohan to make his Formula 1 debut.
- This hot swap had been threatened post-Monaco Grand Prix; Ocon’s track performance (and behaviour) has been a recurring point of contention amongst the Enstone-based team.
- Esteban Ocon is set to partner Ferrari-trained prodigy Oliver Bearman at Haas for the 2025 season; while Jack Doohan joins current Alpine pilot Pierre Gasly.
With just a single race left in the Formula 1 calendar, multiple reports have indicated Esteban Ocon is prematurely exiting Alpine to test for his new team Haas and — more importantly — let Jack Doohan make his debut at next weekend’s season finale (2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix).
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Prior to the news being broken, there were hints of discontent from Ocon, who’d indicated the discrepancy in pace between himself and teammate/compatriot Pierre Gasly was due to unequal machinery as opposed to sheer skill… the implication being his own garage was responsible for his ongoing residency towards the back of the grid.
After another forgettable race weekend at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix — which was punctuated by a first-lap/first-corner DNF involving Williams’ Franco Colaptino and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg — the outgoing Alpine driver sounded like a man who’d already cleared his desk and been escorted off the premises.
“I would like to thank the team for their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year,” said Esteban Ocon.
“When it’s not going so well, the engineers and the mechanic have stuck together, and that’s the most important thing.”
He added: “It’s important to look ahead and see what we can prepare for the future.”
While Alpine has yet to issue an official statement, Team Principal Oliver Oakes has previously alluded to a driver-swapping deal being struck while in conversation with The Athletic.
“I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack in early,” he said.
“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. Esteban has been a big part of this team as well.”
“From both sides, it suits each other.”
Esteban Ocon won’t exactly be parting ways on the best of terms.
The one-time race winner’s relationship with the Enstone-based outfit has progressively worsened through the 2024 season, reaching what appeared to be a boiling point at the Monaco Grand Prix after some miscalculated track aggression almost removed both Alpines in the opening lap.
They had qualified for a P10 and P11 start, respectively, and were staring down the barrel of a potential double-points finish had it not been for Ocon’s divebomb.
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It was to the point that Alpine Motorsport VP Bruno Famin was reportedly prepared to fire him immediately. Although this never came to fruition, soon after, Alpine announced it was replacing the French motorsport talent, who would eventually claim a seat at Haas for 2025.
Esteban Ocon has been signed to Renault’s Formula 1 works team for five seasons; collecting 286 points, four podiums, and a victory along the way.
Jack Doohan, on the other hand, looks to ink an exciting new chapter in his family’s motorsport legacy — with a sixth-place 2024 constructor’s championship finish (and tens of millions in prize money) currently on the line.
