Esteban Ocon’s upcoming split with Alpine is because the pair’s relationship has run its course, according to Sky Sports, and has nothing to do with the Frenchman’s controversial run-in in Monaco with teammate Pierre Gasly.
Ocon joined the Enstone squad in 2020 under its Renault guise and delivered to the Alpine brand its maiden F1 win in Hungary in 2021, which was also the driver’s first Grand Prix triumph.
But since then, the pair’s collaboration has borne little fruit, with Alpine’s underperformance and disrupted organization weighing on its results.
Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater confirmed on Monday that Ocon’s departure at the end of the season is not a result of last Sunday’s events in Monte Carlo.
“I am told it has nothing to do with that,” Slater said. “This would have happened. Maybe it has slightly extradited the announcement that Ocon is to leave the team at the end of the season.
“People already know he will be driving for the team in Canada this week after some doubt was cast on that.
“They [Ocon and Gasly] were childhood rivals, maybe the chemistry wasn’t quite right between them but that isn’t the reason he’s ending at the end of the year.
“The relationship between him and the team has come to a natural end. He’s been there for five years.”
It is believed that Audi has taken a keen interest in Ocon as a ‘plan B’ in the event that it cannot secure the services of outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
However, according to Slater’s reporting, Haas appears as a more probable destination for Ocon, although the US outfit is rumored to also be considering Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas.
"It's difficult for Ocon,” Slater continued. “He's managed to a degree by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. If Wolff wanted to put him in that seat to replace Lewis Hamilton, that would have already happened. That's not going to happen.
“Most of the doors seem closed to Esteban Ocon at the moment.
"Is there a slight chance he could be in contention for the Audi seat, which is currently Sauber? There's an offer on the table for Carlos Sainz but he is caught between taking that option or maybe going to Williams, which over the past couple of weeks has emerged as a serious contender for Sainz’s signature.
“What he does will allow the other teams to make their decisions in effect as it could bring the Audi or Williams seat into play. I don’t believe he has an option at Williams.
"Haas at the moment is Ocon's likeliest chance to stay in F1. He's one of a number of drivers in contention there. British teenager Oliver Bearman will almost certainly be driving at Haas next year, with Nico Hulkenberg leaving the team for Sauber and Audi.
"That would leave Valtteri Bottas, the current driver Kevin Magnussen or Ocon. If it's not that, then the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans would be the other option."
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