P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Alpine team boss Bruno Famin’s firm statement after the Monaco race has caused intense speculation surrounding Esteban Ocon’s position with the French F1 team.
If Red Bull’s Helmut Marko had made comments similar to Bruno Famin about one of his drivers after the Monaco Grand Prix, it could be assumed the driver in question would not be in the car at the next race. Whether the same approach applies to Famin’s leadership is not yet clear, still the Frenchman’s striking statement after the Monaco race, which followed a crash between Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, shows there is a lot of frustration within Alpine. That frustration didn’t come overnight. When Gasly announced his departure from AlphaTauri to Alpine at the end of 2022, it led to conjecture about the potentially turbulent relationship between Gasly and Ocon. Although the two drivers have always been able to prove over the past year and a half they could get along, it became abundantly clear in Monaco this is not the case. The drivers have come into contact with one another more than once during their time together, but in Monaco, it became clear that the frustrations are even greater than imagined between the pair. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why Ocon would make such an ambitious move on his team-mate through the narrow streets of Monaco, particularly after they were told by the team before the race not to make contact. Ocon’s risky attempt at an overtake blew up Alpine’s plans, resulting in the end of his race, with damage sustained to the gearbox and suspension. The contact could have easily resulted in Gasly also retiring and ultimately losing his first point of the season as he went on to finish 10th. In the ‘silly season’, looking ahead to the 2025 campaign, it has become clear Ocon is looking for a switch to another team. His name has been linked to Mercedes, Williams, and Haas, and as he still has a management link with Toto Wolff, the former two teams seem to be viable options. Whichever team he races for, it is clear Ocon will no longer be with Alpine in 2025. Both the team and driver have grown tired of each other – and so it is time for him to move on. As it was known before the weekend in Monaco that, in all likelihood, Ocon will not continue with Alpine, Famin’s striking statement becomes all the more interesting. What did the team boss mean by a “tough decision” if it was already clear Ocon will no longer race for Alpine in 2025 anyway?
