Esteban Ocon is leaving Alpine at the end of the season, the team confirmed on Monday ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. Ocon was in the final year of his deal, and it won’t be renewed.
The 27-year-old has comfortably out-performed teammate Pierre Gasly so far this season. He leads the qualifying head-to-head 6-2 and the race-day battle 6-1.
However, both parties have decided that it’s in their best interest to part ways. This comes after Ocon incurred the wrath of team principal Bruno Famin at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Ignoring the instructions of his team, he tried to pass Gasly at Portier on the first lap of the race but the two made contact. The collision ended Ocon’s race and caused significant damage to the sister car.
There was talk of the former Racing Point driver being ‘benched’ for the upcoming race in Montreal. While he’s personally confirmed that he’ll be racing this weekend, he now knows he has just 16 races left with Alpine.
Ocon, who joined the team in 2020 when they were still known as Renault, should be a desirable free agent on paper. He’s a Grand Prix winner who’s scored three podiums during his 141-race career.
Red Bull joke about Esteban Ocon theories after teasing big announcement
In recent days, Red Bull have been telling fans to ‘stay tuned’ for an ‘announcement’. This may concern Sergio Perez, who’s expected to sign a new contract.
Naturally, when the Ocon news emerged on Monday, some made the connection. But the world champions have responded in a light-hearted manner.
“We understand that, without our agreeement, Alpine F1 have released a statement regarding Esteban Ocon, causing wild speculation over our ‘Stay tuned’ announcement,” they wrote on their official Threads page.
This is a reference to a famous tweet from Oscar Piastri in August 2022. Alpine had unveiled Piastri as one of their drivers for the 2023 season, only for the Australian to publicly deny that he’d signed a deal.
Ocon joining Red Bull would have been a major surprise, and not just because of the circumstances of his Alpine exit. He memorably clashed with star driver Max Verstappen at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ocon tried to unlap himself by passing the Dutchman, but they came together and Verstappen spun. This cost him the race victory and led to a heated altercation in parc ferme.
Why Esteban Ocon has ‘zero chance’ of joining Mercedes
On paper, if Ocon was to join any top team on the grid, it would be Mercedes. Toto Wolff has continued to manage his career at Alpine after he left his reserve role at Brackley.
What’s more, the Silver Arrows have a clear vacancy for 2025. That’s after Lewis Hamilton agreed to join Ferrari on a multi-year deal.
Understandably, Ocon has been ‘waving the flag’ to Mercedes as he tries to land the seat. While he might not be able to win races there right now, it would still be a major upgrade on his current surroundings.
However, the eight-time world champions appear to have little interest in making a move. Journalist Mark Hughes says there’s ‘zero chance’ of a deal happening because of his tendency to create ‘problems within the team’.
If Ocon is to remain in Formula 1 for 2025, then he’ll have to stay in the midfield. Haas, Sauber and Williams are all possible destinations.
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