Credits: IMAGO / Eibner
Esteban Ocon finds himself at a very difficult juncture in his F1 career currently as Alpine’s struggles continue into the 2024 season. The performances of the French outfit have worsened since the end of the last campaign, and some of their key technical personnel have also departed the team. As a result, the hope for any improvement seems bleak at the moment. So, how did Ocon get stuck in such a situation despite having stability in his career for the first time? Apparently, this stability has backfired as the 27-year-old’s long-term bet on Alpine is not paying off.
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The factors behind Ocon’s dilemma date back to 2018-19 when he received the pink slip from Force India (now Aston Martin). In a video by F1 YouTuber Tommo, the Frenchman’s clip from the High-Performance podcast shows his narration of his situation back then.
Ocon said, “I am not gonna say the whole story there, but we had two contracts and two options”. The #31 driver also mentioned how he could have signed for one of these two teams.
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However, he did believe that the other option would be better. It eventually “didn’t work out” with the other team and Ocon had to stay on the sidelines as a Mercedes reserve driver.
After that in 2020, the 27-year-old signed up for Renault (now Alpine). This gave Ocon the much-needed stability, as he signed a long-term deal with the French team till the end of 2024, in mid-2021. Ocon was betting on the long-term prospects of the French team.
However, it hasn’t worked out as he may have hoped for. Even Tommo speculated on what Ocon’s career could have been, had he not signed a long-term deal with Alpine. Of course, the Frenchman may or may not have won a Grand Prix with another team, but he could have potentially gotten into a better competitive side than right now.
What If Esteban Ocon didn’t sit out in 2019?
Tommo speculated on which were the two teams that could have offered Esteban Ocon a seat after his sacking from Force India. He cited that it could have been Alfa Romeo-Sauber and Williams. Tommo mentioned that Antonio Gionvinazzi and Robert Kubica’s seats respectively at these two teams could have been Ocon’s.
Both these contracts had sponsorship and partnership-related reasons to keep the French driver away. Kubica brought Polish sponsors – Orlen’s backing for Williams. Meanwhile, Giovinazzi was a Ferrari test and reserve driver. Sauber’s close relationship with the Prancing Horse paved the way for the Italian.
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Now, if Ocon had gotten into one of these teams, he could have avoided the desperate move to Renault. For better or for worse, the Frenchman’s career trajectory could have changed massively.
At Williams, there was a chance of getting to a Mercedes seat, just like George Russell did. That was perhaps a gamble worth taking, as we saw in Russell’s case.
More importantly, Alpine gave Ocon short-term glory with some podiums and a Grand Prix win. But, in the long term, their vision has not been clear.
So, Ocon could have avoided getting stuck in this chaos at Enstone, in hindsight. The lack of vision is now coming to light with their struggles worsening relative to 2023. So much so, that the #31 driver is now looking for options elsewhere.
Either way, his contract will expire at the end of 2024. Thus, if Alpine can’t show signs of good progress, the Frenchman will have to take a tough call on his future.
