It was already seen at Sunday’s race in Qatar, now it’s official: Alpine is releasing Esteban Ocon for the final race and bringing newcomer Jack Doohan into the car for the end of the season. What is behind it…
What was already hinted at Sunday’s race is now official: Esteban Ocon is out of the Alpine race before the end of the season. In Abu Dhabi, Australian Jack Doohan will drive the Alpine instead. Doohan has already been confirmed as a regular driver for 2025 and is now making his debut earlier than expected.
The official reason, according to Alpine: They wanted to enable Ocon to test drive his new Haas team on the Tuesday after the race.
However, the question arises: Why did Alpine not release Ocon only for a test, that is, after a race weekend, as Ferrari, for example, does with Carlos Sainz? Alpine consultant Flavio Briatore had previously given Haas a waiver to take part in the test.
Would Alpine perhaps have preferred to put newcomer Doohan through his paces and put him to the test in a competitive environment? There have been repeated rumors that Alpine would like to grab Franco Colapinto (currently Williams, next season without a cockpit) instead of Doohan. For Alpine, the move from Ocon to Doohan is the dismissal of Ocon.
An earlier exit from Alpine for the Frenchman than expected – and in his final race even a little earlier. Because he was already out of the Qatar GP after a collision and ended his time with the French racing team off the track.
In Abu Dhabi, Ocon must first watch the Grand Prix – before entering his new car for Haas during testing on Tuesday.
Qatar-GP, Losail International Circuit
01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, 1:31:05,323 h
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +6,031 sec
03. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, +6.819
04. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +14,104
05. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +16,782
06. Carlos Sainz (L), Ferrari, +17,476
07. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +19,867
08. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Sauber, +25,360
09. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +32.177
10. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +35.762
11. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, +50.243
12. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +56,122
13. Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bull, +1:01,100 min
14. Liam Lawson (NZ), Racing Bulls, +1:02,656
15. Alex Albon (T), Williams, +1 Round
outside
Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, turner
Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, Antriebschaden
Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, collision damage
Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, accident
Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, Unfall
World Championship Standings (after 23 out of 24 Grands Prix and 6 out of 6 Sprints)
the driver
01. Verstappen 429 points
02. Norris 349
03. Leclerc 341
04. Plate 291
05. Sainz 272
06. Russell 235
07. Hamilton 211
08. Perez 152
09. Alonso 68
10. Hulkenberg 37
11. Gas 36
12. Tsunoda 30
13. Walk 24
14. Ocon 23
15. Magnussen 16
16. Albon 12
17. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) 12
18. Oliver Bearman (GB) 7
19. Colapinto 5
20. Zhou 4
21. Lawson 4
22. Bota 0
23. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0
Builders Cup
01. McLaren 640 points
02. Ferrari 619
03. Red Bull 581 Racing
04. Mercedes 446
05. Aston Martin 92
06. Alpine 59
07. Haas 54
08. Racing Bull 46
09. Williams 17
10. Sauber 4
