Esteban Ocon has expressed that he doesn’t derive pleasure from seeing Alpine struggle in Formula 1 despite a contentious exit from the team in 2024.
Ocon moved to the Anglo-French marque in 2020 and established himself within the team, becoming an F1 race winner with the Enstone-based squad at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly’s arrival at the team in 2023 saw Alpine field an all-French driver line-up for the first time since 1982. Yet, the duo’s alliance had uneasy undertones of impending chaos given their torrid past as fierce karting rivals.
In Monaco last season, after Ocon tried a failed move down the inside of Gasly at Portier on the opening lap, the two team-mates came to blows.
Speculations rose about the Frenchman being shown the exit doors at Alpine, with an announcement arriving in July that he wouldn’t be renewing his deal.
Ocon did not even drive for the team at the season finale in Abu Dhabi as he opted to drive for his new team in the post-season test instead.
This year, the 28-year-old has tasted success in F1’s midfield with Haas, while Alpine has been languishing at the very bottom of the Constructors’ standings.
And while Ocon is under no illusions that he didn’t have a fairytale ending at Alpine, he isn’t particularly overjoyed to see his former employers struggle.
“You never smile to see someone struggling,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“To me, it was very clear that I wanted to come here [at Haas] for a very long time.
“I took my decision, it was clear that we were not aiming for the same things with the team, and that I needed a new challenge, because we were not going to go forward together. We didn’t agree on so many things.”
Ocon won’t count Alpine out in 2025 midfield battle
10 rounds into the season so far, Ocon has scored exactly double (22) of Alpine’s points total.
The team has been going through a period of transition once again, dovetailing between drivers Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto, and facing instability in leadership positions after the resignations of both Team Principal Oliver Oakes and Renault CEO Luca de Meo.
Yet, Gasly believes that the team has been laying solid foundations for short and long-term success with Flavio Briatore at the team’s helm.
Ocon seems to concur with his former team-mate as he refuses to count Alpine out of the midfield battle this year.
“They’ve been quick in Bahrain and some of the tracks. They are going to be working on themselves as well,” he added.
Last season, Ocon and Gasly’s double-podium heroics at the Brazilian Grand Prix saw Alpine jump from ninth in the Constructors’ standings to sixth in the space of a single race weekend. And Ocon knows that lightning can strike twice.
“In one race, you can recover the deficit that you have. So even though they are last now, it doesn’t mean that this is where they will finish,” explained Ocon.
“So, we need to keep an eye on everyone and do the best we can on our side. But yeah, I definitely feel good here.
“As I said, Alpine will always remain a special place in my heart, having the winning car at home and what we’ve achieved together, but for sure, we will erase the late part of my career there.”
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