Ocon won't race for Alpine in Abu Dhabi?

Alpine announced they were parting ways with Ocon back in June of 2024, who has raced for the French team since 2020, when it was still called Renault.

Ocon was later announced as a Haas driver for the 2025 Formula 1 season, where he will partner rookie Ollie Bearman as the American team will feature a totally new driver lineup with Kevin Magnussen shown the door while Nico Hulkenberg will join Sauber/Audi.

There have been a couple of explanations for this decision, as some reports claimed Alpine have been putting pressure on Ocon to match the performance of his teammate Pierre Gasly, who qualified third in Las Vegas and was once again the faster driver in Qatar this weekend.

The other explanation is that Ocon has been pushing for an early release from Alpine to be able to join Haas earlier and take part in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, as it seems the final agreement meant he gave his seat to Doohan in Abu Dhabi.

In all cases, the end result seems to be: Ocon will be free to join Haas in Abu Dhabi, while Doohan will get a head start for his F1 career next week.

Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes told Reuters on the subject: "I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack in early. I think you could say from Esteban’s side it’s good to move on early.

"I think it suits everybody. So I think the discussion is quite natural really," adding that Doohan would "get those butterflies gone now rather than next year in Australia".

According to The Athletic, Oakes said: "I don't think there's been a definitive answer yet, but it has been talked about.

"It's obviously slightly complex because as much as he is ours, he is contractually a Mercedes driver as well. And obviously, he'd like to be released early as well."

As for Mercedes boss Toto Wolff whose team still has Ocon under contract, he revealed there are talks with Flavio Briatore, the Executive Advisor to Renault CEO, Luca de Meo.

Wolff said: "If you agree that, for the benefit of the future, there's a better solution that allows Esteban to get ready early and better for Haas – and if that depends on driving or not in Abu Dhabi – this is something we discussed today and we're going to talk about it tomorrow."

Alpine have been undergoing lots of changes since Flavio Briatore returned to Enstone as an , with Bruno Famin replaced by Oakes in the hot seat while their power unit operations in Viry-Châtillon were shut down as the team will procure power units from Mercedes from 2026 onwards.

Ocon retired from the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after an opening lap crash with Hulkenberg and Williams' Franco Colapinto.

Ocon gave what seemed like a farewell message to his team after the race in Qatar when taking to the media; he said: "I would like to thank the team for, you know, their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year."