Mercedes confirm Esteban Ocon plans after Alpine axe amid 2025 F1 driver hunt

05 June 2024 , 09:43

1195     0

Esteban Ocon is looking for a new F1 team (Image: Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Mercedes will continue to support Esteban Ocon and are helping him to find a new Formula 1 team after his Alpine exit was confirmed.

Ocon is leaving the Renault-owned team at the end of the current season. It will bring to an end a five-year spell with the Enstone-based squad which offered him a route back onto the F1 grid after missing the 2019 campaign.

He had been dropped by Racing Point and forced to sit on the sidelines as a reserve for the Mercedes team. Ocon has been supported by the German carmaker since 2015 and they continue to manage his career.

The 27-year-old was considered to be a possible candidate for a Mercedes race seat next year, after Lewis Hamilton announced he will be joining Ferrari. However, he is no longer believed to be in the running to become George Russell's team-mate.

Mercedes, though, will still support Ocon despite his impending Alpine exit. And Mirror Sport understands that the team will continue to work with the Frenchman and do their best to ensure he still has a place on the grid next year.

Inside the driver call which upset Red Bull and changed the course of F1 history

Gwen Lagrue heads up the Mercedes junior driver programme and is in charge of managing Ocon. The 27-year-old continues to be supported by the team and they will be part of the efforts to find the driver his next home on the F1 grid.

There is interest in Ocon from teams further down the grid. Audi have long considered him to be an option for their new F1 project and it is believed they will turn to him to fill the unconfirmed Sauber seat next year if top choice Carlos Sainz turns them down.

Ocon and Sainz are in the running for similar seats next year. As well as Audi, both are also thought to be contenders if Williams decide to replace Logan Sargeant, while Haas have yet to confirm either of their seats but may struggle to compete in terms of financial power.

The Frenchman's Alpine exit comes after he caused a collision with team-mate Pierre Gasly in Monaco which left Alpine boss Bruno Famin seething. Commenting on Ocon's exit from the team, Jacques Villeneuve said it was no surprise that he was the one moved on when it was decided that the two drivers could no longer be paired with one another.

The 1997 F1 champion said : "There was always going to be one of them leaving. That was obvious. With that kind of move by Ocon at Monaco, he is not the driver you keep. He made the decision easy for the team."

Daniel Moxon