Esteban Ocon is set to leave Alpine at the end of the season after he and the team mutually agreed not to renew their deal beyond the expiration of his contract.
The Formula 1 silly season has already started taking shape as Esteban Ocon and Alpine officially announced their intention to part ways at the conclusion of the current F1 season.
This concludes the team’s five-year partnership with the French driver, during which Alpine and Ocon won their first Grand Prix at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix—a historic event for the team, the driver, and the brand.
Ocon has been racing for the Enstone-based team since the beginning of the 2020 season under its Renault banner before rebranding to Alpine in 2021 and will have raced in over 100 grands prix for the team by the time he leaves.
The 27-year-old Frenchman has also stood on the podium twice in his career: in the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix and the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, which marked his first podium in his F1 career. He also finished eighth in the 2022 drivers’ championship, contributing to the team’s fourth place finish in the constructors’ the same year.
“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.”
Alpine team boss Bruno Famin expressed appreciation to Ocon for his contributions over his five-year tenure with the squad.
“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.”
While the exact reasons behind the split haven’t been fully disclosed, the announcement comes after Ocon and teammate Pierre Gasly collided during the first lap at the Monaco Grand Prix a week ago. Ocon’s car suffered damage after he made a daring move past Gasly into Massenet, sending his car airborne and damaging his suspension.
During the red flag period after the incident, Famin openly warned Ocon, stating there would be “consequences.” This sparked speculations that the driver might not be allowed to race in this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. However, Alpine has not made any indication that Ocon will be replaced in Montreal.
The team has stated that its driver line-up for next year’s campaign will be announced in due course.
Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan is reportedly the front-runner to replace Ocon, with Mick Schumacher, who drives for the outfit in the WEC also in the run to secure the seat. Carlos Sainz is another possibility being one of the high-profile names still available in the driver market.
