The Alpine crash in Monaco has indeed had the “drastic consequences” announced by Bruno Famin: Esteban Ocon is leaving the team at the end of the season
The teammate crash in Monte Carlo was probably the straw that finally broke the camel’s back: Esteban Ocon and Alpine announce their separation just over a week after the Monaco Grand Prix – but not until the end of the season!
The Frenchman had already publicly toyed with the idea of parting ways several times after the team’s poor start to the season, but after the crash in Monte Carlo, this has now become a reality: the collision with team-mate Pierre Gasly on the starting lap apparently cut the tablecloth between team and driver for good.
Alpine boss Bruno Famin had already announced “drastic consequences” immediately after the race, and with the separation at the end of the year, these have now actually followed.
Following the incidents in Monaco, Ocon had recently defended himself against the false information and “gross distortions” on social media and confirmed that he would continue to sit in the Alpine cockpit at the upcoming race in Montreal. However, his contract with the Renault subsidiary will not be extended at the end of the season
Despite separation: warm words on Alpine’s farewell
In the statement on the separation, Ocon describes his time with the former Renault and current Alpine team as a “significant period of my life” and explains: “I was a regular driver here for five years, but my professional career at Enstone started when I was a teenager, so it will always be a special place for me.”
“We’ve had some great moments together, some tough ones too, but I’m obviously very grateful to everyone in the team for those memorable times,” says Ocon, who celebrated his first and only Grand Prix win with Alpine in Hungary in 2021.
As for his future, the 27-year-old explains: “I will announce my plans very soon, but in the meantime my full focus is on delivering for this team on the track and having a successful rest of the season together.”
Team Principal Famin echoes this sentiment, thanking Ocon for his commitment to the team despite the impending separation: “We still have 16 races ahead of us in 2024 and a clear goal: we will continue to work tirelessly as a team to achieve the best possible results. We wish Esteban the very best for the next chapter of his career when that moment comes. “
Ocon: Haas, Audi, Williams or even Mercedes?
Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu recently stated that both Alpine drivers are on his team’s shortlist as possible candidates for 2025.
Ocon was also being considered for the future Audi works team Sauber as well as Williams, where the connection to engine supplier Mercedes could be particularly helpful: As Ocon, who is still managed by Toto Wolff’s team, emphasized several times, the Stuttgart-based team is still deciding on his future. A move to the Silver Arrows works team as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton cannot be completely ruled out against this background either
Alpine, meanwhile, theoretically has two cockpits to fill for next season, as Ocon’s team-mate Pierre Gasly’s contract also expires at the end of 2024:
Candidates include Alpines sports car driver Mick Schumacher, Formula 2 junior Jack Doohan and Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou – however, Gasly’s retention for 2025 has probably not become any less likely now that his unloved team-mate is set to leave.
