Esteban Ocon discovered that Alpine needed him to step down for the ultimate race of the Method 1 season simply hours earlier than the Qatar Grand Prix, Motorsport.com has realized.
Ocon’s spell with the French automobile producer has come to an early finish, as he won’t participate on this weekend’s Abu Dhabi race with the squad handing Jack Doohan his debut as an alternative.
Taking to social media on Tuesday, Ocon admitted that “this isn’t how I needed issues to finish” as he revealed the particular farewell helmet that he had been hoping to make use of for his final look.
However the unusual manner his exit from the workforce was organized has now emerged, with sources revealing that he had been summoned to Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore’s workplace simply hours earlier than the beginning of the race in Qatar final weekend.
There, it’s steered, he was knowledgeable that if he didn’t settle for to finish his contract with the workforce early then he wouldn’t be launched to check together with his future Haas workforce on the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi GP.
Whereas Haas boss Ayao Komatsu had revealed that an settlement had been reached with Alpine for Ocon to be obtainable for the Tuesday run, an official log out from the Enstone operation had not been forthcoming up till this level.
It’s understood that this prospect of not being launched to affix Haas for the take a look at was used as leverage for Alpine to maneuver Ocon apart, one thing which he clearly wanted to just accept if he needed to not compromise his future.
Flavio Briatore, Government Advisor, Alpine F1, arrives on the observe
Picture by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Pictures
Alpine itself didn’t deny the suggestion that a part of the deal between the workforce and Mercedes, which nonetheless has contractual ties to Ocon, concerned the component of the Abu Dhabi take a look at.
This was additionally confirmed by Mercedes workforce principal Toto Wolff, who stated on Sunday evening in Qatar: “There is a contractual relationship that Esteban, and we’ve got with Alpine, on driver providers and that contract expires on the finish of the yr. That is the premise.
“Then, in the event you agree that for the good thing about the longer term, there’s a greater resolution that permits Esteban to prepare early and is healthier for us, and if that relies on driving or not in Abu Dhabi, I feel that is one thing we mentioned.”
Requested if Ocon would have been blocked from collaborating within the take a look at if he had refused to step down for the Abu Dhabi race, Alpine workforce principal Oliver Oakes stated: “I assume Flav and Toto have been discussing that, have not they? I have been busy racing. It isn’t my determination to make.”
The transfer to advertise Doohan early comes amid hypothesis within the paddock about Briatore’s curiosity in Williams driver Franco Colapinto, who may very well be a contender for a job at Alpine with curiosity in him from Pink Bull cooling down.
The Abu Dhabi race will permit the squad to evaluate Doohan’s tempo towards Gasly early, one thing which the workforce has already been doing.
It’s understood that the Australian was additionally put to the take a look at a couple of weeks in the past when the workforce flew Gasly to Qatar for a non-public run in one among its earlier automobiles to set a benchmark time for Doohan, with paddock sources suggesting that the teenager achieved.
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Jonathan Noble
Method 1
Esteban Ocon
Alpine
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