The Alpine Formula 1 team is set to announce a huge change in its driver line-up for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. Esteban Ocon will be replaced by Jack Doohan, who will be driving for the team full-time in 2025.
This decision comes amidst reports, not yet officially confirmed by the team, suggesting that Ocon requested to leave in order to potentially drive for Haas, who he will be driving with next year, as the season wraps up.
This comes after the French driver was forced to retire from the Qatar Grand Prix earlier today due to a first lap incident with Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto. Whilst speaking to the media after retiring, Ocon explained:
"It was wrong place, wrong time I think. Racing incident unfortunately.
"I think we were all on the outside, started to get quite narrow. And unfortunately, we were already outside of the track when the collision occurred.
"Unfortunately it's an incident and a short race for us. Not something that we wanted, but I would like to thank the team for their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year.
"When it's going well, it's good to stick together.
"But when it's not going so well the engineers and the mechanics stick together and that's the most important thing.
"I passed already Franco. I was on the left side of Nico. He was on the hard [tyre] so it was always going to be something like this, but unfortunately a short one for us.
"It's important to look ahead and see what we can prepare for the future."
Ocon's departure from the French squad signals the end of a challenging season for the driver, who has been with the team since 2020 after a brief stint as Mercedes' reserve driver. Ocon's first and only victory for Alpine came in 2021 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. His early exit from the team is in line with a planned move to Haas for 2025, where he will drive alongside rookie Oliver Bearman.
The incoming Jack Doohan brings a fresh perspective to Alpine's driver roster as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix approaches. Doohan, whose father is five-time 500cc MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, has received a promotion from reserve driver to race alongside Pierre Gasly in 2025.