Alpine were ‘forced’ to give Esteban Ocon one eight-figure gift before he left, ‘it was in the contract’

Esteban Ocon is adapting to life at Haas after leaving Alpine at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

The Frenchman had been with the Enstone-based team since 2020 when they ran under the Renault name. The team opened the door for Ocon to return to F1 after he was dropped by Racing Point at the end of the 2018 season.

Rebranding to Alpine in 2021, the 28-year-old made over 100 race starts for the team. Ocon gave them their first and to date only win in F1 at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, as well as scoring podiums at Monaco in 2023 and Brazil in 2024.

While there were some incredible highs, there were also controversies that damaged his image at Alpine. Team boss Bruno Famin was furious at Ocon after he collided with teammate Pierre Gasly at Monte Carlo last season.

The Frecnhman is notorious for having incidents with his teammates, notably Gasly, whom clashed several times at Alpine. Famin was thinking about dropping Ocon after their Monaco collision for reserve driver Jack Doohan.

Flavio Briatore pushed for an early exit for Ocon, which eventually came ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He was allowed to leave for Haas to compete in the post-season test after the race, while Doohan was given a head start ahead of 2025.

Alpine were ‘forced’ to give Esteban Ocon his 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix car before leaving for Haas

In many ways, Ocon’s Alpine exit would have been difficult to take. Leaving before the end of the season, given that he has won the team their only race thus far, did leave a sour taste in many people’s mouths.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman has moved on to pastures new but did not leave Alpine without getting a parting gift. Ocon received his A521 that guided him to victory in Budapest in 2021, which sits in his garage back home in France.

It is a pretty substantial gift, given that F1 cars cost around £14.6m. However, speaking via the Beyond The Grid podcast, Ocon says Alpine were ‘forced’ to give him the car as it was in his contract.

“It’s not really a gift. It’s a bit more complicated, it was in the contract. So, they were forced to give it!” he said. “It’s the actual chassis and it’s [the] complete car, it has an engine.”

Asked whether he can drive the car, he said: “No, it’s impossible. I’ve thought about it already a thousand times on how to do [it] and there are a few things missing, like batteries, like some of the ECUs are not there.

“First, it’s dangerous, because a battery without people checking the voltage and stuff and keeping the battery level throughout all the cells is very dangerous. I’ve specifically asked not to have the batteries.”

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How is Esteban Ocon faring at Haas so far in 2025?

After moving over from Alpine, it would be fair to say Ocon has had a mixed start to life at Haas. The team infamously did not do any qualifying runs in pre-season testing, sparking concerns for 2025.

Haas were off the pace in Melbourne as Ocon and Oliver Bearman limped home 13th and 14th. However, aided by Ferrari’s double disqualification, the pair produced a stunning race in Shanghai to finish P5 and P8.

Bearman continued his form at Suzuka as he reached Q3 and finished 10th, while his teammate languished in 18th. Ocon blamed Haas’ new floor in Japan, claiming it only worked on one car, but Ayao Komatsu found both cars benefitted from the upgrade.

The Frenchman crashed in Q2 in Bahrain, while Bearman lined up last. Fans mocked Ocon for his Nikita Mazepin-like accident as it was reminiscent of the Russian’s spin at turn three on his F1 debut in 2021.

Ocon and Bearman put their qualifying woes behind them to finish P8 and P10 in the race. Another double points finish sees Haas move to fifth in the constructors’ championship as the Frenchman sits ninth in the drivers’ standings.