Esteban Ocon may have competed in his last race for Alpine in Qatar as F1 insider Ted Kravitz has confirmed that the team will replace him with their 2025 driver Jack Doohan for the final race of the campaign in Abu Dhabi. With Doohan anyways going to drive for Alpine in 2025, an early drive might give him some confidence going into his rookie season.
Theodore Kravitz has confirmed that Jack Doohan will replace Esteban Ocon at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) December 1, 2024
A driver leaving the team earlier than scheduled is a rare occurrence. However, Ocon’s relations with the team had been going through a rough patch for a while. Even his shock P2 finish in Brazil has apparently failed to mend those strained ties. At least this is what his early departure suggests.
Ocon endured some scathing criticism for his move earlier this year at the Monaco GP. The collision with teammate Pierre Gasly ended his race while Gasly continued with damage and took home a point. Stewards, who ruled Ocon as the sole culprit for the crash, slapped him with a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Canada.
Ocon was quick to realize his mistake and apologized in his interviews with the media and also through his posts on social media. However, the Alpine management had already taken exception to the rash move on the track. The then-team principal Bruno Famin openly threatened Ocon with a “there will be the appropriate consequences” remark.
Within a week, the team released a statement to confirm the 28-year-old’s exit after the end of the season. Fortunately, Ocon bagged a contract with Haas to drive for them in 2025. The premature exit could fast-track his arrival at the American outfit, possibly giving him the opportunity to do some test runs after the Abu Dhabi GP.
