As the Alpine driver mulls over his future with the Formula 1 team amid rumors he would be replaced, Esteban Ocon has hinted that he could take Lewis Hamilton’s spot at Mercedes.
Ocon’s long-term contract with Enstone will expire at the end of this year, making him one of the ten drivers who have not yet secured a drive for 2025. After spent five years with the French team during two terms, Alpine is unlikely to be renewed given his terrible start to the 2024 campaign.
The 27-year-old and Alpine inked a long-term contract in the summer of 2021, which ends at the conclusion of this current campaign. Ocon may choose to return to Mercedes if he decides to quit, as they provided him with the opportunity to make his F1 grid debut with Manor and then Force India.
The German team is trying to fill the void left by Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari, and Ocon has given rise to rumors that he would like to race alongside George Russell for the Silver Arrows the following season.
“I still think of myself as a Mercedes junior. Since 2015, my representation group has remained the same. We’re having a lot of conversations, and we’ll determine what’s best for my future,” Ocon said in Imola to the printed media, which included Total-Motorsport.com.
I don’t think it’s a problem today, but we’ll see. Numerous things must be going on behind the scenes. I’m considering both a long-term and a short-term contract.
Ocon eager to stay out of the F1 wildernessIn 2021, Ocon achieved an incredible first victory in Hungary, and in 2022, he finished on the podium in the Monaco Grand Prix. But Alpine’s consistent downfall has been widely reported, and this year’s A524 has been a major letdown, with Ocon managing the team’s lone point in six races.
Throughout his career, he has struggled to establish a stable position within a team. In 2019, Racing Point fired him to make room for Lance Stroll, which meant he had to serve as Mercedes’ reserve driver for a year.
It is known that Alpine would rather retain Pierre Gasly over Ocon, even though Ocon has won their head-to-head match. Additionally, Ocon is eager for his future to be decided in order to avoid being left out in the cold once more. There may be openings at Haas and Williams.
In Formula 1, things move quickly, so having something secured as soon as possible is crucial. For me, it’s always an obvious objective, Ocon continued. “I don’t want to pay the price again, similar to the one I don’t remember from the end of 2018, and it wasn’t related to performance.”
