The Alpine Formula 1 team has confirmed that Esteban Ocon will be leaving the team at the end of the 2024 season. This announcement comes shortly after Ocon made headlines for a collision with his teammate, Pierre Gasly, during the Monaco Grand Prix. It was a poorly timed lunge by the #31 driver coming out of Portier risked both drivers getting eliminated on the first lap. It wouldn’t be a surprise if many believed that the crash was the primary reason for Ocon’s sacking.
However, according to Sky Sports F1 pundit Craig Slater, the decision to part ways with Ocon had nothing to do with the Monaco incident. Slater revealed that sources within the team indicated the decision was mutual and had been in the works for some time.
“I’m told that it has nothing to do with that,” Slater said on Sky Sports YouTube channel. “This would have happened anyway… The advice I’m being given is that the relationship between him and the team has come to a natural end.”
“He’d been there for five years, which is a long time in Formula 1 terms… But maybe the team isn’t in the position he expects it to be at this point and maybe the team needs a bit of freshness and new direction from another driver coming in.”, he added.
Slater also suggested that the tension between the two French drivers, Ocon and Gasly, may have contributed to the team’s decision. “If you add that to the fact that he and Pierre Gasly are maybe on occasion rubbing up the wrong way, that’s the reason for his departure at the end of the year.“
When Pierre Gasly was first rumored to be joining Alpine as Fernando Alonso’s replacement in 2023, many insiders questioned how well he would work with Ocon given their history. Despite these concerns, the team believed they could manage the relationship. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone as smoothly as Alpine would have hoped.
How did Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly turn into bitter enemies?
The friction between Gasly and Ocon dates back to their early karting days when they were close friends. They spent a lot of time together, training at the same tracks and visiting each other’s homes frequently.
However, their friendship soured after several incidents on the track as remembered by Gasly himself. One notable incident occurred when Gasly and Ocon collided on the last corner of the final lap during the final race of the Bridgestone Cup in 2009, with Gasly taking third place and leaving Ocon fuming.
Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Anthonie Hubert ve Jules Bianchi aynı karede (2010) pic.twitter.com/SmxdZJEbbK
— NF Formula (@NFFormula) October 13, 2022
Another significant clash happened during the World Cup in Portugal in 2010, where Ocon cut a corner and hit Gasly after sliding through the grass, impacting Gasly’s starting position for the pre-final race.
These early conflicts have led to the bitterness between the two Frenchmen. Their inability to work together became evident when they collided at took each other out during the Australian Grand Prix last season.
After the recent collision in Monaco, Alpine team principal Bruno Famin even went as far as to warn Ocon that “there would be consequences.” However, the decision to part ways was reportedly mutual and not solely due to this incident.
Regardless of the announcement, Esteban Ocon has committed to racing for Alpine until the end of the year. Fans will be watching closely to see how the rest of the season unfolds for him and the team.
