A week after Esteban Ocon’s race-ending crash in Monaco, Alpine has announced that he won’t continue driving for the team from 2025 onwards. With the driver market volatile and several drivers looking to make moves or find seats, there are plenty of available options for the Enstone-based outfit.
Sky Sports’ Craig Slater confirmed that Ocon isn’t losing his seat because of what happened in Monaco. While talking about the same, he came up with four names who could be replacements for the 27-year-old. They are Jack Doohan, Carlos Sainz, Valtteri Bottas and Mick Schumacher.
All four drivers offer different solutions to the same problem but also come with their own set of challenges.
Jack Doohan:
Per Slater, Doohan is the easiest choice for Alpine. He is their reserve driver and has the potential to have a bright future with the team. However, his lack of wheel time heading into a new era of F1 could make Alpine hesitant, because of which they could turn to a mixture of both talent and experience.
Carlos Sainz:
Sainz is one of the most sought-after drivers on the grid and offers race-winning pedigree to the outfit. However, considering Sainz is looking for a top team to drive for following his Ferrari exit in 2025, moving to Alpine would not be something he would prioritize.
Valtteri Bottas:
Experience, talent, and no contract for 2025- Bottas could be the perfect fit for Alpine on paper. With his Sauber/Audi future looking up in the air, all Alpine has to do is offer the Finnish driver a long-term contract, which remains his number one priority.
Mick Schumacher:
Already a part of Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team, Schumacher last raced in F1 in 2022. He is patiently waiting on the sidelines, hoping for an opportunity to rebuild his reputation again. However, Slater doesn’t think the young German is in contention for Ocon’s soon-to-be-vacated seat as of yet.
Considering the aforementioned options and potentially more, Alpine will have plenty to choose from, and Ocon will be hoping for a similar spread on his platter.
Craig Slater on Esteban Ocon’s options for the future
Ocon is in his eighth year of F1 and is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. Taking his talent elsewhere shouldn’t be a problem on paper, but Slater feels that he will run into trouble.
One of the teams Ocon was immediately linked to was Mercedes, where he has close ties with Team Principal Toto Wolff. But Slater thinks that if Wolff wanted him in the seat for 2025, he would have made it happen already.
“That’s not going to happen,” he asserts. “I’ve been doing my rounds and finding pretty much that most of the doors seem close to Esteban Ocon at the moment.”
However, he did bring Audi and Haas into the conversation. Sainz, who is a target for Audi, could choose Williams instead which could prompt the Germans to go after Ocon. On the other hand, Williams isn’t interested in Ocon, which leaves him with the Haas option.
