Official: Alpine says goodbye to Ocon!

Esteban Ocon (27 years old) He will not continue with the Alpine F1 team in 2025. The French driver is on a tight rope after the accident he caused his teammate Pierre Gasly in the first lap of Monaco and finally, the farewell of the Norman driver from the team is officially confirmed. Enstone at the end of this season. This was announced by the Alpine team, which now has to find a replacement on the grid to fill Esteban’s position which, in turn, has to knock on the door of teams with seats available for the next campaign.

According to the statement, the team and the driver decided “part their ways” by mutual agreement, although everything seems to indicate that it was a dismissal of a driver who was again too aggressive with Pierre Gasly who came to the French team last year. Alpine decided to sign the former Red Bull player even though he and Ocon are no longer friends because of things in the past, after growing up together in karting and in the lower categories.

And finally, this course, in the middle of a very complicated situation at the sports level of Alpinewith the need to change course, Esteban Ocon He put his personal interests ahead of the team on lap 1 of Monaco, on a track where the priority had to be helping Pierre score points for the team.

The drop that fills the glass

Esteban started 11th in Monaco and Gasly started from 10th place. And at the first turn, Ocon took an action that was too dangerous and Gasly was touched. For this reason, Esteban had to give up and Galsy, fortunately, was able to continue and finish 10th and add that last point.

Ocon put that point at risk after the French team made it clear to its drivers that the team’s strategy had to focus on defending Gasly’s place. But it’s not like that on the track. This was the last straw for the team in front of Ocon who was always too aggressive with his teammates. This has happened in the past with ‘Checo’ Pérez at Racing Pointand more recently, in Alpine, with Fernando Alonso.

The French came Alpine in the same year that Fernando Alonso did, in 2021. There are two seasons in the Asturian, with who does not maintain a good relationship in his second year (2022) after some aggressive actions by the French against the Spanish. That tension ended with the two fighting Brazil and at the end of that period the man from Oviedo packed his bags for Aston Martin.

Alpine’s statement, in full

“The BWT Alpine F1 Team and Esteban Ocon have jointly agreed to part ways at the end of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, ending the Frenchman’s contract with the team.

It ended a five-year partnership between the team and Esteban, with Alpine and Esteban recording their first victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, a historic moment for the brand, the team and Esteban himself.

Esteban recorded two more podiums during his five years, achieving second place at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, his first visit to the grandstand in Formula 1, and the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, where he finished in third place. He achieved a best finish of eighth in the 2022 Drivers’ Championship, contributing to the team’s fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship that year.

The team looks forward to continuing its hard work with Esteban for the remainder of the 2024 season and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.

“The team’s driver line-up for 2025 will be announced in due course.”

Esteban Ocon: “It is an important period in my life to drive for this Formula 1 team. Although I have been here for five years as a full-time driver, my professional career started at Enstone when I was Although I’ve been here for five years as a full-time driver, I started my professional career at Enstone when I was a teenager, so it will always be a special place for me. together, and also difficult, and I am very I thank the whole team for these unforgettable moments I will announce my plans soon.

Bruno Famin, team manager: “Firstly, we would like to thank Esteban for his commitment to the team over the past five years. During his time, we have celebrated some amazing moments together, the best of which came at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with unforgettable success in We still have 16 races to finish in 2024 with a clear goal: to continue working tirelessly as a team to push for the best results on the track.