Alpine F1 and Esteban Ocon part ways as both seek new beginnings, confirming the timing was ideal for a change.
Esteban Ocon will join Haas F1 in 2025, after spending five seasons with Renault and Alpine. The French driver experienced tensions with his team this year and with his director Bruno Famin. The latter is convinced that it was the right time for a separation, and he is glad that it happened before a real conflict.
“I think it was the right time,” Famin explained on the Beyond the Grid podcast. “I think it was the right time for both parties to part ways. I am very happy that we are parting with a very good relationship. There is no conflict, no problem… I am sure we will talk about Monaco.”
He assures that Ocon’s clash with his teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco was not the reason for the separation, but rather a symptom of the problems: “It was the tip of the iceberg, Monaco. It was proof that it was time to change for both parties.”
“We need dynamism in the team, we need to change instability, movement, and you cannot be so stable. You need to bring in new ways of doing things, new ideas. A new driver would bring new things.”
“And it’s the same for him: a different environment will allow him to improve some things. I am 100% sure it will be good for everyone, for him too. In fact, it’s a bit paradoxical. But since we decided to separate, the relationship is perhaps calmer.”
And Famin keeps Ocon’s victory as one of his best memories: “I am very happy that a few years ago, we were able to provide a winning car in Hungary in 2021. It was a very good moment. I wish I had been with his family at that time. But yes, I think the relationship is good.”
“Not a situation different from other teams”
Famin explains that the situation after Monaco was defused thanks to a lengthy discussion between the drivers and the team management, as had been the case in previous delicate situations. The Frenchman denies that Alpine encounters more significant problems at this level than other teams.
“It’s like the discussion we had with the two after Japan last year, after the position-swapping incident. For me, the way to talk is to say that it’s good, that it’s not good, to say the things that I think are important to consider, there is no need to be rude.”
“You said that you saw I was upset. Normally, I have nothing to add, people see my face and know whether I am happy or not. That’s enough. Then, we needed to discuss what happened to ensure it doesn’t happen again and do our best for the future, and the things we need to do together.”
“I am certain we don’t have a situation different from that of other teams. Everyone knows that the main competitor of a driver is his teammate and there has been a lot of noise about Ocon versus Gasly and Gasly against Ocon.”
“But I am sure the situation is the same in all teams. Look at what happened on the track, Russell against Hamilton, Leclerc against Sainz. I think they are all racers. They are all fighters, they want to beat their teammate. That’s perfectly normal.”
“Since Pierre joined the team at the start of 2023, there hasn’t been a specific problem about this. As for the fact they are both French, I think that for me it’s much better because when I speak with them, I am much more comfortable speaking in French.”
“Except that it doesn’t really matter whether you have a French, British, or a driver of any nationality – we need the person who will bring the best to the team.”
A crippling strike at Viry?
Moreover, things are heating up at Viry and the employees who design the Renault F1 engines as well as those who operate them are now threatening to strike.
According to an anonymous source from the operations side, there might be a refusal to start the engines once F1 returns to the Netherlands.
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Famin Affirms: Alpine-Ocon Split Timely Necessary Famin Affirms: Alpine-Ocon Split Timely Necessary
