Esteban Ocon insists he doesn’t want to do “headlines” giving his true opinion on Alpine’s decline in Formula 1.
But the French driver, who joins the small American Haas F1 team from 2025, admits that the way his career with the Renault factory team is ending, as well as the end of the F1 engine program of the brand, are “sad”.
The 28-year-old’s only Grand Prix victory came behind the wheel of an Alpine in 2021 – but since then his relationship with the team and the team’s performance have been in steady decline.
“The reasons for this decline are numerous,” confides Ocon during this fall break.
When asked to elaborate, he replied: “I have some explanations, but I prefer to keep them to myself. I don’t want to make the headlines here.”
Ocon infuriated team management with his accident with teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco, but he insists that is not the only reason for his departure at the end of the year.
“It was already clear to me before that. We had already had discussions with other teams. It even started during the 2023 season.”
“Of course, you’re always open to anything, but for me it was relatively clear that I was looking for a new challenge.”
Like Carlos Sainz, Audi would have been an option for 2025 for Ocon, but the parties did not shake hands.
"I don’t want to go into detail about that," insiste Ocon.
“We spoke to several teams. In the end, what convinced me the most was that Ayao (Komatsu) is leading the team. He is a seasoned race engineer who knows what he is talking about.”
“Haas currently employs 300 people but they are more successful than teams with 1,500. And there are big investments coming that will impact performance. The team has clear goals and I want to be part of them. “
“I visited the factory before and saw the passion with which everyone works there. I missed that feeling.”
Some might assume that Ocon may have ruined his career at Renault and Alpine – especially since he beat Max Verstappen to the F3 title in 2014.
“You can’t lose hope. Drivers like Jenson (Button) show that there can suddenly be a chance if you work hard and keep improving.”
“Last year I fought on equal terms with the McLarens in many races, and now they are fighting for the championship. Anything can happen.”
Unfortunately for Ocon, he has struggled to shake off a reputation in the paddock as selfish, often unfriendly and difficult to deal with – especially when it comes to his teammates.
"I think people have a bad image of me," he replies.
“After an ordeal, I once spoke with a young journalist for five minutes, and afterwards, he said to me, ‘You know, Esteban, I didn’t really like you before, but after our conversation, I really like it’. I found it very interesting.”
“People may have an image of you that doesn’t match reality at all.”
As for his regular clashes with his teammates, Ocon insists that no team he raced for “lost any place in the championship because of this”.
But this year at Alpine, he openly admits that facing this situation of decline “hasn’t been fun.”
“When I signed in 2020, I had high expectations. There were also big promises. But these goals did not materialize in five years. It’s not easy for a driver to invest so much and suddenly find yourself at the back of the grid.”
And when he realized the 2024 car would be so slow, Ocon says he “made the decision to look elsewhere early.”
“It’s really sad to see where we are now. Alpine comes from Normandy, like me. I’ve always been proud to wear the logo. It’s really sad to see where we are now. The brand deserves better .”
“We’re giving everything, but it’s not enough. Five years with one team is a long time in Formula 1. We’ve had good times and bad times. It was just time to try elsewhere.”
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