Alpine confirm Esteban Ocon departure with Jack Doohan to make early debut

Alpine have confirmed that Esteban Ocon will miss the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi with Jack Doohan stepping in to replace the Frenchman.

Ocon has been released early to allow him to drive for new team Haas in the post-season test.

Esteban Ocon to miss Abu Dhabi GP

Signs of such a move were first hinted at by Ocon in his post-race press conference in Qatar with the Frenchman thanking the team for their hard work despite having one race to go.

“I would like to thank the team for their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year,” Ocon told assembled media, including PlanetF1.com.

“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.”

He ended by saying, “It’s important to look ahead and see what we can prepare for the future.”

But with confirmation from the team that Ocon has driven his last race, in steps rookie Jack Doohan who has already been confirmed as the team’s full-time driver next season.

It is thought that Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore would only allow Ocon to test for Haas if he stepped down and permitted Doohan to take his seat for the season finale.

Ocon has driven for the Enstone team since replacing Nico Hulkenberg at the then Renault in 2020. During his time with the French outfit, Ocon has scored 309 points, four podiums and a win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

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But his departure was thought to be in no small part due to his actions in Monaco where he crashed into team-mate Pierre Gasly and was reportedly on the verge of being dropped for the following race. That never came to pass and Ocon insisted that his departure was not due to one event.

“A group like Renault doesn’t take decisions on single moments like that. For us, it was important that… We’ve discussed for several months and we decided together not to continue. It’s no secret that we’ve been talking with Alpine and various other teams as well,” he said in June.

“I’ve spent five years with this team, achieving great things, and having some more difficult moments, but I’m proud of what I’ve achieved with this team and it’s time for me to have other challenges, exciting challenges.”

Ocon will partner Oliver Bearman in an all-new Haas team in 2025.

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