Esteban Ocon will be leaving Alpine at the end of the 2024 F1 season. Yep, just over a week after Ocon’s unwise lunge down the inside of his teammate on lap one of the Monaco Grand Prix, his team has confirmed he’ll lose his seat for next year.
Well, the official wording reads: “BWT Alpine F1 Team and Esteban Ocon have agreed together to part ways at the end of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, the conclusion of the Frenchman’s contract with the team.”
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Not immediately obvious who made the first move there, is it? The separation will bring an end to Ocon’s five-year stint at Alpine. The French driver gave the team (in its current configuration) its first F1 win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
His best finish was eighth in the 2022 drivers’ championship as Alpine secured a fourth-place finish in that year’s constructors’ championship.
“It’s been a significant period of my life to be racing at this team in Formula 1,” said Ocon. “While I’ve been here for five years as a full-time racing driver, my professional career started at Enstone back when I was a teenager, so it will always be a special place for me.
“We have had some great moments together, some tough moments as well, and I am certainly grateful to everyone at the team for these memorable times. I will announce my plans very soon but, in the meantime, my full focus is on delivering on track for this team and having a successful remainder of the season.”
Alpine team boss Bruno Famin apparently raged at Ocon after the incident in Monaco and told French TV channel Canal+ there would be ‘consequences’ for the 27-year-old. His parting statement was a little more positive, though.
“We would like to firstly thank Esteban for his commitment to the team for the past five years,” said Famin. “During his time, we have celebrated some fantastic moments together, the best of which coming at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with a memorable race win.
“We still have 16 races to complete in 2024 together with a clear objective: to continue to work tirelessly as a team to push for the best on-track results. We wish Esteban the very best for the next chapter of his driving career when that moment comes.”
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
