After an early retirement from the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, rumors quickly began to swirl that Esteban Ocon would be soon replaced by Jack Doohan — at Abu Dhabi.

Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes was noncommittal when speaking to media after the event, refusing to confirm or deny those rumors. However, he did acknowledge that an early departure “suits everybody,” including Ocon.

Esteban Ocon facing early Alpine departure

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The Qatar Grand Prix, which may be Esteban Ocon’s final race with his Alpine team, ended unceremoniously on Lap 1. Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg drove into Ocon, who was then shoved into the Williams of Franco Colapinto. Both Ocon and Colapinto were forced to retire.

In the media pen after his retirement, though, Ocon raised eyebrows by delivering what sounded like a farewell speech to the French team.

“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.”

PlanetF1.com understands that Jack Doohan will be taking over for Ocon in Abu Dhabi.

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Understandably, Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes was a wanted man when the checkered flag flew. In speaking to media, including PlanetF1.com, Oakes refused to confirm the rumor, saying, “I don’t think a decision has been made.”

He pointed out that he had “just seen” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s comments suggesting that “there was a deal to be had,” but that no deal has yet been definitively struck.

“I think there’s been a discussion,” he clarified. “I don’t think there’s been a definitive answer yet. It has been talked about.”

Oakes noted that he began receiving text messages from media while sitting on the pit wall; those messages came primarily from journalists who heard Ocon’s post-race interview and concluded that it was a farewell. But Alpine’s boss went right from pit wall to debrief to scrutineering, with little time to really digest.

“I think there’s still some conversations to go through tonight and maybe tomorrow morning, but I think it all seems to be moving in a direction that might be a good solution for everybody,” he stated.

And by “everybody,” Oakes truly means everybody.

“I think it comes from all sides, really,” he said of Ocon’s potential early departure.

“I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack [Doohan] in early. I think you could say from Esteban’s side, it’s good to move on early.

“I think it suits everybody.”

As a result, the “conversations” regarding the topic came naturally.

Oakes was asked if there were multiple layers to this departure, with one journalist citing Ocon’s criticism of the car and his relative lack of performance, but he denied that it was a primary factor in making any driver swaps.

“I think really the bigger part is the natural evolution, really, of his moving on.

“Does it suit both of us to do that just a bit earlier for the last round or not?

“And from the other side, you could look at it as it’s advantageous to get Jack in the team, working with everybody, and you know, get those butterflies gone now rather than next year in Australia.”

Read next: Ocon out, Doohan in at Alpine ahead of F1 2024 finale