Esteban Ocon is leaving Alpine at the end of the season. The team confirmed after the events of the Monaco Grand Prix that they had come to the mutual decision to move on.
Ocon had ignored the instructions of team boss Bruno Famin by attempting a move on teammate Pierre Gasly at Portier on the first lap. The two drivers made contact that ended Ocon’s race and left Gasly with damage.
While a rumoured one-race suspension for Ocon didn’t come to fruition, there were signs in Canada that the atmosphere in the team was tense. There was controversy in the closing stages of the race, when the two cars were running in the last two points-paying positions.
Ocon was the lead car in P9 but he was nursing an energy management issue. The team then instructed him to let Gasly through so the 28-year-old could try and attack Daniel Ricciardo in the RB.
After initially expressing reluctance, Ocon moved aside, but Gasly wasn’t able to pass Ricciardo. The former’s expectation was that the position would be returned to him at the end, but that didn’t materialise.
Alpine scored their first double points finish of the season to move above Williams in the constructors’ championship. But rather than celebrating, Ocon was left furious that his teamwork hadn’t been reciprocated.
Alpine may have to come to financial agreement with Esteban Ocon
German outlet Auto Motor und Sport consider the possibility that Alpine will throw Ocon ‘out the door before the end of the season’. The team may wish to get reserve driver Jack Doohan as early as possible.
Doohan has been a front-runner for the vacancy, having impressed the team in his private tests. He could gain valuable F1 experience this year before his first full campaign in 2025.
But much as Alpine may prefer an earlier separation, they have an obligation to Ocon. Under his contract, he’s entitled to see out the campaign.
There are two ways this deal could be broken. First, they could demonstrate that he’s no longer acting in the best interests of the team, but that would be difficult given his deference to team orders in Montreal.
Second, the two parties could come to a ‘financial agreement’ to part ways this summer. Ocon doesn’t necessarily need to showcase his talents in the remaining races because he’s already a strong candidate to join Haas next year.
How Ocon spat over Gasly team orders played out on the radio
With five laps to go, Ocon lost P8 to Ricciardo and was instructed to let Gasly by so he could attack the Australian. He told the team to ‘forget it’, though it’s unclear whether he was rejecting the order or casting doubt on Gasly’s chances of an overtake.
After the team reiterated their request, Ocon relented, but he warned that he expected them to make it ‘right at the end’. When he was subsequently told that there would be no swap on the final lap, he sarcastically replied: “Yeah, amazing, thank you, amazing.”
The former Renault driver said he was ‘too nice’ to express the full extent of his anger over team radio. But he told the pitwall that they hadn’t done what they ‘had to do’.
With the relationship damaged further, one journalist says Ocon could be ‘binned’ during the summer break. There are still five races to go before then, starting in Spain at the end of next week.
While Haas are the favourites to sign the Frenchman, Audi could make a late push to sign him. Carlos Sainz remains their top target, but he’s set to join Williams instead.
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