Esteban Ocon, Alpine: a high-voltage separation
After four seasons of highs and lows with Alpine, Esteban Ocon turns the page with bitterness. Now committed to Haas for 2025, the Frenchman makes no secret of his disappointment at the way his last few months with the French team have turned out. Between technical differences, internal conflicts and a missed final, here's a look back at a painful break-up.
A promising start turned toxic relationship. In 2021, Esteban Ocon joins Alpine with great ambitions. The team, then in reconstruction, wants to establish itself as the flagship of French motorsport. In his first season, the French driver shines by securing his first, and to date only, victory in Formula 1 in Budapest. The story seems beautiful.
But as the seasons go by, the dynamic unravels. In 2024, the climate becomes unbearable. Poor results, internal instability, and strategic conflicts eventually create a rift between Ocon and his team.
“It was obvious that we no longer had the same goals,” he confides. “We were no longer on the same path. There were so many disagreements.”
The Breaking Point: 2024, The Year Too Many
On the track and behind the scenes, the 2024 season seems like a point of no return. Alpine is losing competitiveness, technical developments are stagnating, and Ocon feels that his feedback is no longer being considered. Worse, he regularly feels disadvantaged compared to his teammate Pierre Gasly, particularly through contested team orders.
« The development of the car was no longer progressing, and my feedback was not being listened to », he laments.
Tensions are spilling over into the race, where several clashes between the two Frenchmen highlight a duo that has become dysfunctional. In this context, Ocon makes a decision: he will leave Alpine at the end of the season.
He will join Haas in 2025, officially marking a breakup that he says he had decided on a long time ago.
A departure without goodbyes
But even this exit, he will not fully experience. To everyone’s surprise, Alpine decides to deprive him of his last Grand Prix in 2024, preferring to field the young Jack Doohan. Officially, the choice is strategic: the team fears that Ocon might transmit sensitive technical information to his future team.
In fact, the episode leaves a bitter taste for the 28-year-old pilot. No farewell helmet, no lap of honor, no official thanks.
« I would have liked to finish differently. This last chapter, I prefer to erase from my memory », he states.
A fracture revealing Alpine’s malaise
Ocon’s mishap is symptomatic of the turmoil Alpine is going through. The team has lost its footing this season, stagnating at the back of the grid with barely 11 points, and has been regularly shaken by resignations and leadership changes. The latest bold move: the return of Flavio Briatore, the controversial former director, in an attempt to right the ship.
Despite this, Ocon refuses to attack someone when they’re down.
« They are last, but in F1 anything can change over a weekend. I don’t underestimate them. »
If he claims to feel good at Haas, he still holds a form of affection for his former team. Alpine will always have a special place in my heart. I won my first race with them.
But the shared history ends with a sense of incompleteness. A page turns, not without scars.
