To quote Ron Burgundy from Anchorman: This situation escalated quickly. I mean, it gets out of hand really quickly.
Sunday’s race in Qatar was enjoyable enough in isolation, but as soon as the drivers got out of their cars, several storylines began to emerge that had little to do with the previous two hours.
One concerns his loss of respect for Max Verstappen and George Russell. I think this will be a great race to watch next season if Mercedes has a sufficiently competitive car. The other was the situation surrounding Esteban Ocon at Alpine.
It was revealed that Ocon had been given an ultimatum before the race. If he wants to drive for Haas in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, he will have to move aside for Jack Doohan to take his place in the final round. Little bits of information started emerging shortly after the checkered flag, and by Monday morning Alpine had confirmed the news.
And this wasn’t just a case of switching, it was Ocon’s contract being terminated early, cutting off all ties and allowing him to join Haas virtually immediately.
This is a complex picture, and one that could still have knock-on effects.
If the relationship is going well and there are already agreed-upon plans for all parties for next season, it wouldn’t be crazy to bring the next step forward to the end of the year. What’s unique about the Alpine situation is that plans for next season can actually change, too.
It means a lot for Doohan to make his debut at the Yas Marina Circuit. He raced and won in Formula 2 and achieved outstanding results early in his career on the track. Additionally, this was also the location used to test the previous car (TPC) running. That’s where he has every chance to succeed.
But he will have to do it. Because Alpine has a lot at stake. Sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship is within sight, but Haas has been extremely consistent and competitive and still faces serious opposition. In these circumstances, it makes no sense to discard the winner (the only Alpine driver to finish in any position) who finished second just three races ago.
It could be argued that these changes are due to incorrect shape, but sources close to the situation say the shape is closer to a car than a driver. And considering how competitive Ocon has been throughout his F1 career so far, it’s hard to argue against it. Even this season he beat Gasly 10-4 before the summer break.
Since then, only once in Singapore has Ocon surpassed his teammate. Another case was a rainy session in Brazil where the car gap was reduced. And Ocon finished a respectable 4th that day.
Many of the losses in the preliminaries came by significant margins, inconsistent with Ocon’s career to date. This has led to a conspiracy theory that he doesn’t want to beat Haas to sixth in the constructors’ championship when he joins Ayao Komatsu’s team next season, but this overlooks an important detail.
An early debut for Doohan on a track he knows could give him and Alpine a head start in 2025. But if things go south, will Colapinto be able to join the conversation? Image via Alpine F1
Before Ocon took second place in Brazil, Alpine was out of contention for sixth place. And this recession happened much earlier than that. Then, when things became even, he was very competitive and suddenly scored huge points that made Alpine a P6 contender.
To throw the conspiracy theory the other way, it might not look much better if the departing driver, Ocon, continues his pre-summer qualifying form than the remaining drivers. But to say that’s certainly what would have happened would also be a disservice to Gasly. Because his performance was still great and he was scoring points even before the car was improved. And there is always likely to be an aspect of drivers being phased out before moving on to somewhere else.
Several teams, including Ferrari with Carlos Sainz’s move to Williams and Haas with Sauber’s move to Sauber, are allowing drivers to take part in testing in Abu Dhabi for their new teams. Haas expected the same thing to happen with Ocon and had wanted to announce it for a long time, but couldn’t.
By refusing to confirm that Ocon would be released to drive for Haas, Alpine held the cards to ensure the Frenchman followed orders. Whether during the race weekend or in the wider picture of the situation in Abu Dhabi, it was a bargaining chip.
So why would Alpine play such a game with one of its drivers? A complicated situation arises here.
The Australian was confirmed as Ocon’s replacement after the summer break, by which time Carlos Sainz had already committed to Williams. There seemed to be no more experienced option and Doohan showed the speed needed to succeed.
But the same weekend that Doohan was confirmed – at Zandvoort – Logan Sargeant crashed heavily and Williams moved to replace him with Franco Colapinto. We now have a driver who has shown hugely impressive potential and could open up key markets in South America in terms of sponsors and car sales. Alpine is a team owned by Renault. Don’t forget.
If you take out the human element, you obviously have to make decisions. Do you want to go back to your previous announcement and sign an exciting driver with potential and tons of support, or do you stick with your previous decision and give a chance to another young talent who came through the Young Driver Program?
Seeing Doohan on a track that already has references will allow Alpine to manipulate his potential, and if it works out well for the 21-year-old, it will give him plenty of data to work with during the off-season. To help him prepare. But change could still be afoot if Doohan struggles, the Colapinto deal becomes too good to turn down, or both.
Colapinto’s recent spate of crashes appears to have cooled interest from both Red Bull and Alpine a bit, but he remains an option. How track conditions play out in Abu Dhabi could still have a huge impact on the 2025 driver market, which we thought was almost settled.
Considering Ocon had to spend his bye weekend with the team he played for for the past five seasons, cutting all ties with him was hardly the classy move. And the fact that Doohan may already be driving for his future is equally cruel to a talented rookie who deserves time to get the best of himself.
But Ocon is set to leave regardless and Alpine believes it can make the difficult decision. It may seem cold, but there’s nothing wrong with providing as much data as possible. Only hindsight will show whether it was justified or not.
