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Esteban Ocon has revealed that he wanted to end his Alpine stint on a high before he moved to Haas, but he was left with no choice. The French driver joined the Enstone-based squad in 2020. The first season with the team was not as impressive as the driver was just coming from a year away from the sport and didn't have much testing to get into the groove.
In the subsequent years, however, Ocon ended up becoming a pivotal part of the squad. He scored his first podium for the team in 2020 in Bahrain. In 2021, he won his first F1 race with the team, and in 2023 and 2024, he ended up securing a podium finish as well.
For the 2025 F1 season, the driver had announced a move away from Alpine to Haas. In the later stages of the 2024 season, the driver complained of something not being right with his car. With just one race left in the season, Esteban Ocon was shockingly told to leave the squad immediately and was replaced with Jack Doohan.
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The move saw Alpine invite a lot of negativity for the manner in which it had handled the entire situation. Talking to Athletic, Esteban Ocon touched on how he wanted to finish his time with the French team on a high but was left with no choice. He said:
“I wanted to finish on a high note, and finish the season and then do the postseason test with (Haas). But I was left no choice. It’s fine. Yeah, I’m just sad for the people that obviously have worked for me for the past five years. I wish the best to that team. But for me, it’s time to move forward and get a new chapter.”
Esteban Ocon on his next stint at Haas
Moving on from the 5 years he spent at Alpine, Esteban Ocon is looking forward to his stint at Haas. The American team put together an improved effort in 2024 that saw the squad finish 7th in the championship. Ocon will be joining the squad this season and is quite excited by the prospects of being a part of Haas. He said:
“It’s very exciting (to be at Haas) because there are big projects to make the team bigger, to make the team grow. They’ve shown that it was working successfully already last year, and we’re going to continue that trajectory and try and do better than what happened last year. Development is going well.”
Ocon will be teaming up with Ollie Bearman this season and will be looking to take on more of a leadership role within the team.
