Esteban Ocon to leave Alpine at the end of the season

It has been confirmed that Esteban Ocon will be leaving Alpine at the end of 2024 after five years with the team.

The announcement comes in the wake of a crash between Ocon and teammate Pierre Gasly, which had sparked rumours that Ocon could be dropped for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, though these were unsubstantiated.

Ocon had returned to Formula 1 in 2020 with the Endstone based team after a year long hiatus following his departure from Force India. In that time he was a part of the team’s rebranding from Renault to Alpine, and was teammates alongside Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and Gasly.

His high point came at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, where he was able to make the best of a chaotic start to win his first race in F1, alongside Alpine’s first under their current identity.

Other highlights include the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, where he scored a 2nd place finish, as well as taking third in the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix.

However, things haven’t always gone smoothly during his tenure at the French outfit. He would have run ins with Alonso during the two-time world champion’s time back at the team, as well as having crashed with Pierre Gasly on a couple of occasions.

The split does however appear to be amicable, with Alpine Team Principal Bruno Famin stating: “We would like to firstly thank Esteban for his commitment to the team for the past five years. During his time, we have celebrated some fantastic moments together, the best of which coming at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with a memorable race win.

“We still have 16 races to complete in 2024 together with a clear objective: to continue to work tirelessly as a team to push for the best on-track results. We wish Esteban the very best for the next chapter of his driving career when that moment comes.”

Ocon Released his own statement as well, which reads: “t’s been a significant period of my life to be racing at this team in Formula 1. While I’ve been here for five years as a full-time racing driver, my professional career started at Enstone back when I was a teenager, so it will always be a special place for me.

“We have had some great moments together, some tough moments as well, and I am certainly grateful to everyone at the team for these memorable times. I will announce my plans very soon but, in the meantime, my full focus is on delivering on track for this team and having a successful remainder of the season.”

Speculation over Ocon’s future and that of Alpine’s 2025 lineup will be rife over the coming weeks and months, though nothing concrete appears to surfaced as of yet to suggest what the future might hold for either party.

It has been suggested that Ocon’s most likely destination would be at one of Sauber, Williams or Haas, and though he is managed by Mercedes, he is not expected to fill the vacant seat there.