Esteban Ocon may not take part in the last Grand Prix of the season with Alpine and could be replaced in Abu Dhabi by Jack Doohan.
While the champagne was flowing freely on the podium of the Qatar Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon was probably already in his motorhome. In fact, he who started from the last place on the starting grid of the race, was forced to abandon at the first turn. When jumping on the brakes, his Alpine came into contact with the Haas of Nico Hülkenberg and the Williams of Franco Colapinto.
Julien Fébreau, F1 commentator for Canal+, reported on a rumor circulating in the paddock, that of the imminent departure of Esteban Ocon from the Alpine team.
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“We can't help but mention this rumor which is spreading rapidly in the paddock, here in Qatar. The rumor of a possible absence of Esteban Ocon during the last Grand Prix of the season. It's a rumor, be careful, we will remain extremely careful with the terms, but we cannot avoid talking to you about it. Will Esteban Ocon be at the start of the last Grand Prix of the season? Will he be replaced before this last Grand Prix of the season by Jack Doohan? Failing to be able to affirm it, we can at least ask ourselves the question this evening”declared Julien Fébreau.
“We obviously hope that the response will be a mark of respect towards Esteban Ocon and that he will have the right to continue his adventure with the French team. But as we speak, there remains a certain uncertainty hovering over this possibility. We hope that it will be swept away quickly and that we will find Esteban Ocon in his car in Abu Dhabi in less than a week now”concluded the Canal+ commentator.
For his part, Esteban Ocon declared at the microphone of Canal+, who wanted “thank the mechanics, the engineers for all their efforts on this race but also over the rest of the year, above all. It was a word that was important to me, because in difficult times we continued to push and there you go, I wanted to thank them for that.”
When asked how he was going to approach the Abu Dhabi GP with Alpine, the last of the season, the Frenchman said: “We’ll see… In the same way, I imagine”Esteban Ocon concluded.
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