Esteban Ocon quits in F1 stunner, gifts Aussie Jack Doohan early debut

An Australian young gun is set to make his F1 debut early after a driver walked out on his team with one race still remaining in the season.

Australia’s Jack Doohan is set to make his Formula One debut at next week’s season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Esteban Ocon quit Alpine after Monday morning’s race in Qatar.

Ocon had been enduring a tough weekend and he crashed out of the race when he got sandwiched between Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg on the opening corner.

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Those three drivers, along with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez, were all DNFs in Qatar as Max Verstappen won a chaotic race ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.

Ocon’s post-race comments raised eyebrows as he thanked Alpine for the season and appeared to suggest his campaign had ended, despite there being one race left.

“I would like to thank the team for, you know, their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year,” Ocon said.

“When it’s going well, it’s good, you know, 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 added: “Important to look ahead and see what we can prepare for the future.”

Esteban Ocon is leaving Alpine with a race to go. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

Multiple reports state Ocon, 28, is leaving Alpine one race early as part of a deal that will allow him to take part in postseason testing with Haas, with whom he signed a deal earlier this year.

Alpine hasn’t officially confirmed the move yet, but team principal Oli Oakes told The Athletic:

“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.

“The discussion was quite natural, really. Esteban has been a big part of this team as well. From both sides, it suits each other.”

“This isn’t an immediate sacking or anything like that, this is a plea bargain,” Ted Kravitz explained on Sky Sports.

“I understand Esteban Ocon was very keen to do the postseason test on the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his new team Haas.

“It seems they’ve reached a deal, that ‘you can do the test with Haas if you don’t race in Abu Dhabi for Alpine’. That is the deal that has been struck. He qualified last so he’s clearly not getting on well with this Alpine at the moment.”

Ocon’s decision to end his five-year stint with Alpine one race early means Doohan will likely make his F1 debut in Abu Dhabi next weekend in the season finale.

Doohan, 21, has been serving as Alpine’s reserve driver and it was announced in August he would be promoted as Ocon’s replacement for 2025.

Jack Doohan is set to make his F1 debut early. (Photo by James Bearne/Getty Images)

Kravitz said it would give Doohan a “running start” with Alpine ahead of his first full-time F1 season in 2025.

Ocon’s departure will overshadow the career-best form of teammate and fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who finished fifth in Qatar and has helped Alpine rise in the constructors’ standings.

Ocon and Gasly both finished on the podium at the rain affected Brazilian Grand Prix but that was a rare highlight for Ocon, who claimed his sole race win in Hungary in 2021.

“The new front wing and the new nose went straight to Pierre Gasly,” Kravitz added.

“Ocon didn’t get a sniff of the upgrade this weekend.

A crane lifts Esteban Ocon’s car off the track in Qatar. (Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP)

Ocon says au revoir to Alpine. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

“There clearly hasn’t been something right in the car and he’s decided to effectively miss the rest of the season with Alpine so he can do the Haas test with his new employers.

“Strange in a way when they’re celebrating the glorious P5 from Pierre Gasly that’s put then back into sixth in the constructors. Good day to bury bad news, perhaps.

“Something has been going on Esteban Ocon. He has not been competitive. Something (has been) out of kilter.”

A harsh stop-and-go penalty meant Lando Norris finished down in 10th, ensuring the battle for the constructors championship would head to Abu Dhabi. McLaren leads Ferrari by just 21 points.

The F1 season concludes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Monday, December 9.

Originally published as Esteban Ocon quits in F1 stunner, gifts Aussie Jack Doohan early debut