Esteban Ocon to depart Alpine post-2024 - report

Esteban Ocon is sure to be present and active at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.

Bruno Famin, the team principal at Alpine, openly expressed his extreme anger following Ocon's crash involving his teammate Pierre Gasly at the Monaco GP.

Some speculated that Williams even dismissed the idea of recruiting him for 2025 because of the incident, and there were whispers about a possible internal suspension by Alpine as a disciplinary measure.

The French newspaper L'Equipe clarified that the rumors of a racing suspension were inaccurate.

"According to our information, he (Ocon) will be in Montreal," the French sports daily reported, "but he will not continue with the French brand beyond the end of his (2024) contract."

Through a series of tweets on X, 27-year-old Ocon announced his participation in the race this weekend.

"I'm looking forward to competing in Montreal, in front of the fantastic Canadian fans, and to the exciting opportunities the future holds," he stated.

Ocon also expressed his "saddened" feeling towards some narratives following the Monaco GP, emphasizing: "We are not robots. We are athletes pushing ourselves to the limit every day to achieve our dreams of winning races."

"The misinformed statements and gross distortions that I have seen online in recent days about my ability to work with a team have been inaccurate, hurtful, and damaging," he continued.

Ocon clarified that he had adhered to Alpine's pre-race "instructions," and he reaffirmed his "responsibility" for the incident at the Monaco GP.

Alpine is currently navigating challenging times, as Rob White, the long-standing operations director, is now leaving the organization amidst a downturn in performance.

Nevertheless, Famin lauded the team's effort in addressing the 2024 car's once hefty weight, and addressed the misunderstood performance reports.

"Contrary to popular or widespread belief, the A524 goes much faster than the A523," he informed Auto Hebdo.

"I've read some crazy stuff on this subject, but it's true that relatively speaking, we lost positions, which means that the others progressed more than us and that we weren't able to develop quickly enough."