Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Ferrari has shocked everyone in the F1 fraternity, to say the least. As the seven-time world champion would leave Mercedes for the Prancing Horse next year, it will open up a spree of transfer in this year’s silly season. One such driver who could be a part of this silly season is Esteban Ocon, who is all set to start his fifth season with Alpine.
Alpine recently unveiled their 2024 F1 challenger named A524. This was when the French driver opened up about his Mercedes connection to the media. He said as per the Dutch website Formule1, “I’m still a Mercedes junior driver, even though I’m not so junior anymore. I have always had good ties with the team.”
However, Ocon also revealed that his only goal is to concentrate on this season and come out on top with Alpine. This indirectly means that he wants to get better off his teammate, Pierre Gasly, something he hasn’t done in 2023.
Gasly and Ocon aren’t like any other F1 teammate pair, as they have a bitter history. The two drivers who came out from karting in France shared fierce rivalries during their junior days. However, things died down slowly as they grew up, but when the time came, Ocon would not think twice to take the better step.
The #31 driver finished the 2023 F1 season in P12 with 58 points and a podium. Whereas, Pierre Gasly finished a place ahead in P11 with 62 points and a podium as well. Together they could only propel Alpine to finish in P6 in the Constructors’ championship with 120 points.
As the Enstone outfit’s performance does not seem to improve, both Ocon and Gasly may look for options elsewhere. With their contracts expiring at the end of 2024, they may fancy the Mercedes seat for next year.
Can Ocon move to Mercedes in 2025?
Esteban Ocon has ties with Mercedes for a long time. He was a junior driver for the Silver Arrows and drove for Mercedes-Benz in the 2016 DTM season. But most importantly, he spent a year in the reserve driver role in 2019 behind Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. This was after losing his Racing Point, formerly Force India seat to Lance Stroll at the end of 2018. As a result, he built a strong tie with Toto Wolff’s team.
Interestingly, Ocon came very close to snatching Bottas’ seat in the Silver Arrows in 2020. However, his deal with Renault, currently Alpine worked out perfectly, and Mercedes too did not object to that. The Enstone-based team brought the 27-year-old to replace Nico Hulkenberg.
Ocon’s contract with Alpine ends this year, which he signed in 2021. Meanwhile, the Silver Arrows are still to decide on Hamilton’s replacement from 2025 onwards. This makes the Frenchman one of the candidates to be in a Mercedes seat next season, and therefore, the move for him is not entirely impossible.
Nevertheless, it all comes down to Toto Wolff and Mercedes management to make the final decision before they bring in a driver for 2025. They have the whole 2024 season to evaluate, test, and experiment with his options before he brings in a driver to replace the legendary Hamilton! Apart from Ocon, a few other drivers who are expected to be shortlisted to replace him are Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Mick Schumacher and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
