A press release this Monday put an end to the false suspense this morning. Esteban Ocon competed well in his last race with Alpine on Sunday in Qatar. The Franco-British team announces « the participation of its reserve driver Jack Doohan in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in place of Esteban Ocon. The move frees Esteban to drive for Haas during post-season testing in Abu Dhabi. »
The team's boss, Oliver Oakes, clearly hinted on Sunday, after the Qatar Grand Prix, that a separation between the two parties was imminent. “There has been a discussion, there is no definitive answer yet, but we have talked about it. It's a bit complex (…) It's obvious that he (Ocon) would also like to be released earlier. I think it comes from all sides.”
A little earlier in the evening, Ocon had already cast doubt on his participation in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by emphatically thanking his mechanics and engineers after his early retirement from the Qatar GP.
“Not much to say about this race… I would like to thank the mechanics, the + engineers + for all their efforts on this race but also especially throughout the rest of the year. It was an important word for me because in difficult times we continued to push and I wanted to thank them for that,” declared the 28-year-old pilot on Canal +.
On Sunday, the race came to an end for the Norman, who started in last position and had to abandon after a collision with the Argentinian Franco Colapinto (Williams) and the German Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) at the first turn.
Arriving in 2020 at the Alpine team, then called Renault, Ocon competed in 106 Grands Prix there and scored four podiums, including a victory, the only one of his career in F1, in Hungary in 2021.
This season, he is in 14th position in the drivers' standings, thanks in particular to his unexpected second place in the flood at the Brazilian GP in early November.
