More than half the grid is fighting for seats in Formula 1 for 2025 and making sure they send the right message in the press at this stage of negotiations is very important.
Fernando Alonso made it clear that he’s delighted to have extended his contract with Aston Martin, but if Red Bull had come calling, you wonder if he would have been quite as committed to the team.
There are only two unconfirmed seats in the top half of the grid for 2025 with Mercedes looking for a teammate for George Russell and Red Bull considering Sergio Perez’s future.
However, the second half of the paddock is a lot more open at the moment and plenty could change in the coming weeks and months.
Speaking to The Race, Alpine star Esteban Ocon has been speaking about his future.
He and teammate Pierre Gasly are both out of contract at the end of 2024, although Gasly may have a clause in his deal to extend for one more year.
Whether he would like to do that is another matter given the French’s team struggles.
Ocon has made it clear that he’s happy at Alpine at the moment but knows that he needs to examine every opportunity that he’s presented with.
READ MORE: Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Esteban Ocon admits he’s happy at Alpine amid speculation over his future
It’s been a really difficult start to 2024 for Alpine at a time when the team needed to kick on.
After falling from 4 to 6 in the Constructors’ Championship last year, they needed to find a way to close the gap to the top five teams.
Instead, they’ve fallen behind RB, Haas and arguably Williams and Sauber too.
That’s despite the fact that they have two race-winning drivers in their cars right now.
Pierre Gasly finished on top last season and typically takes a bit of time to get used to his car every season before kicking on.
His teammate has taken advantage this season by being the faster driver in qualifying and the race itself, even if they’ve not been challenging for points.
Ocon has now said that right now he’s happy at Alpine, but whether he’s feeling the same way in December if he’s still at the bottom of the standings is another matter.
If the team continue to head in that direction, then he may end up taking one of the options that might be on the table in the coming weeks and months.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Esteban Ocon could have a huge choice to make ahead of 2025 F1 season
“The most important [thing] always is how you perform on track,” said Ocon when asked by The Race whether he wants to translate his good form into a move elsewhere or if his priority is to extend his stay at Alpine. “The rest – the opportunities, the talks always come with that.
“I’m focusing mostly on what I have to do and we’ll see about the rest. But we need to be improving, that’s what we are focusing on.
“I’m committed to this team at the moment. And that’s what I’m looking for.”
If Ocon suddenly isn’t happy at Alpine, he might have a few options to choose from.
He’s on the shortlist at Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton, but that wouldn’t be a long-term project considering Andrea Kimi Antonelli is waiting in the wings.
There’s an exciting project on the horizon at Audi and Ocon is in discussions with the German manufacturer ahead of their introduction to the grid.
Finally, he could take a sideways step to Williams which looks like a much more stable project at this moment in time.
The post ‘We’ll see’: 27-year-old driver says he’s happy with current team ‘at the moment’ amid Mercedes and Audi links appeared first on F1 Oversteer.