The Qatar Grand Prix descended into chaos on Sunday evening, with five drivers retiring from the race. It’s only the second time this season that many drivers have failed to finish.
Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto were the first two retirees, though neither were at fault for the incident. Nico Hulkenberg lost the rear of his Haas in the first corner, tagging an unsuspecting Ocon.
That in turn sent Ocon into Colapinto’s Williams, with both drivers climbing out of the car after stopping in the gravel trap. Elsewhere on lap one, Lance Stroll and Alex Albon made contact, which saw the latter spin.
Stroll received a 10-second penalty from the stewards, and served it before retiring from the race with damage. Later, the under-pressure Sergio Perez spun just before a safety-car restart and lost drive in his car.
On the very next lap, Hulkenberg also spun of his own accord, and he couldn’t escape the gravel trap. He’d scored an impressive seventh in the Sprint, but his weekend crumbled afterwards as he qualified 18th before a wretched race.
Esteban Ocon hints Jack Doohan could replace him at Alpine after Qatar Grand Prix
It was confirmed long ago that Ocon would leave Alpine at the end of the season. The team called it a mutual decision, and he sealed a move to Haas soon after.
But speaking to Planet F1’s Thomas Maher after his retirement, he said something ‘unusual’. The 155-race driver thanked his team for their ‘hard work on his car throughout the year’, as a driver normally would at the end of the campaign.
Unless Ocon ‘forgot this isn’t the finale’, he may have been hinting that his time at the team had come to an early end. Sure enough, the outlet themselves later added on their X account that it’s ‘likely’ Ocon won’t be in the car until Abu Dhabi.
This would mean a shock debut for Jack Doohan, his chosen replacement and the team’s current reserve driver. Ocon would still attend the race because he’s due to test for Haas afterwards.
Ted Kravitz’s big question for ‘terribly off the pace’ Esteban Ocon at Qatar Grand Prix
The early driver swap would be highly unusual, but not unprecedented. At the end of the 2017 season, for instance, Carlos Sainz left Toro Rosso for new team Renault (Alpine’s predecessors) with four races still to go.
There were signs that the relationship is coming under strain. Alpine had to thoroughly check Ocon’s car before the race because he believed Pierre Gasly’s package was five to seven-tenths faster.
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz asked Ocon ‘what is going on’ after he qualified at the back of the grid. He feels he’s been ‘terribly off the pace’ this weekend.
Given that there are contracts in place, Ocon would have to consent to the switch. But he may see little benefit in seeing out the year.
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