Esteban Ocon to leave Alpine after tumultuous start to F1 season

Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of the season in the latest high-profile exit from the French Formula One team.

Ocon and Alpine had been tipped to part ways prior to an incident at last month’s Monaco Grand Prix in which he crashed with teammate Pierre Gasly.

Team principal Bruno Famin warned there would be “consequences” over the clash and added that “Esteban’s attack was totally out of circumstances”.

The Frenchman’s departure at the end of 2024 will end a five-year association with the F1 team, who have struggled on the grid this season and have been in the midst of an overhaul of staff.

Last week, the team sacked operations director Rob White, the latest in a raft of exits.

Famin’s predecessor as team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Premane were also released before technical duo Matt Harman and Dirk de Beer resigned and Bob Bell left for Aston Martin.

Ahead of his end-of-season exit, Ocon said: “We have had some great moments together, some tough moments as well, and I am grateful to everyone at the team for the memorable times.”

Famin added: “We have celebrated some fantastic moments together. We still have 16 races to complete in 2024 together with a clear objective: to continue to work tirelessly as a team to push for the best on-track results.”

Ocon earned Alpine a race victory in his second season with the team, in Hungary in 2021, but has endured strained relations with his teammates in the garage, first Fernando Alonso and most recently Gasly.