Esteban Ocon told real ‘reason’ for Alpine axe at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was not Haas

Jack Doohan is making his Formula 1 debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yet the reason Alpine dropped Esteban Ocon was not his imminent switch to Haas next year.

The Enstone outfit afforded Doohan a jump start on his career in the pinnacle of motorsport after already announcing the Australian as part of their 2025 driver line-up with Pierre Gasly in August. He was due to replace Ocon, who signed a multi-year contract with Haas this July.

But Alpine sprung a surprise ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP by confirming that Ocon would not get one last appearance for the team. Instead, retiring at the first corner of the Qatar Grand Prix when caught by a spinning Nico Hulkenberg was the 28-year-old’s last time in the A524.

Alpine axed Esteban Ocon for the Abu Dhabi GP as Pierre Gasly ‘suddenly’ dominated him

Initially, it was believed that Alpine axed Ocon so he could drive for Haas in the post-season test after the Abu Dhabi GP. But 2016 drivers’ champion Rosberg does not feel that was the real reason for the decision to introduce Doohan to the Formula 1 field at the season finale.

Ocon was thought to have agreed with Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore to hand over the seat a race early as the Frenchman was keen to drive for Haas in the test. Alpine already wanted to replace Ocon with Doohan long before his premature exit to test their F1 rookie.

But Rosberg believes the ‘sudden’ dominance that Gasly enjoyed over Ocon in recent races was fundamental to Alpine axing the one-time Grand Prix winner before the Abu Dhabi GP. Alpine have even impressed Rosberg with the team’s surprising turn of form through Gasly.

“What on earth is going on there?” Rosberg said on Sky Sports F1 (07/12, 10:37). “Suddenly they’ve put so much performance onto the car for the first time in a long, long time because they’ve just been struggling all along.

“And then, suddenly, Pierre Gasly also massively outperforming Esteban Ocon – which is the reason they’ve taken him out of the car this weekend.”

Esteban Ocon pays tribute to Alpine with heart-warming Instagram post

Alpine head into the Abu Dhabi GP sat sixth in the constructors’ championship but are still in a fight with Haas and Visa Cash App RB for millions in prize money. Gasly has played a huge part in Alpine’s position with the 28-year-old securing points in three of the last four rounds.

Gasly took P10 in Mexico City, P3 in Sao Paulo – where he also took P7 in the F1 Sprint – and P5 in Qatar. But apart from Ocon handing Alpine a double podium in the Sao Paulo GP in P2, he had not scored points since the Belgian GP. Ocon has 23 points to Gasly’s 36 this season.

Yet Ocon expected to drive for Alpine in the Abu Dhabi GP before beginning his new life as a Haas driver. The Frenchman, who won the 2021 Hungarian GP for the Enstone crew, wrote a heart-warming message on Instagram after Ocon learned he would not race an Alpine again.

“First of all, I want to thank the mechanics and engineers of all functions on the track to Enstone and Viry-Chatillon, who have raced alongside me in the last five seasons,” Ocon wrote. “We’ve shared so much together, and I’m proud to call many of you my friends.”

Ocon added: “To the hundreds of teammates in Enstone and Viry, I apologise for not being able to come and see you in person and say a proper goodbye. As you know, the plan was to run one last time this weekend and say goodbye next week.

“[I] was looking forward to doing these two things. This is not how I wanted things to end.”