Alpine driver Esteban Ocon.
Having taken to social media on Sunday to proclaim an announcement is coming, only for Alpine to reveal Esteban Ocon is leaving the team, Red Bull have joked about “wild speculation” over their “stay tuned” heads-up.
This year, the driver market and F1 2025 confirmations in Formula 1 began earlier than ever before, making it an unprecedented and amusing season.
Red Bull: We understand that without our agreement…
The series of announcements began with the confirmation that Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris will remain with their teams for the long haul. Subsequently, the news of Lewis Hamilton’s unexpected switch to Ferrari emerged, accompanied by the simultaneous departure of Carlos Sainz.
Afterwards, Williams saw Alex Albon join their team while Nico Hulkenberg made a transition to Audi.
It is, however, Red Bull that many F1 fans are waiting to hear from. Will Max Verstappen leave for Mercedes? Is Sergio Perez going to stick around for another season? And if there’s a change in either seat, will it be Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda who climbs in?
What’s next for Esteban Ocon?
What’s next for Esteban Ocon? Four potential F1 seats in order of likelihood
Alpine F1 2025 shortlist: Who will replace Esteban Ocon for next season?
On Sunday night, Red Bull hinted at an upcoming announcement by sharing a message of “stay tuned”.
The F1 world waited and waited, and then waited some more and then it came: ‘Esteban Ocon and Alpine have “agreed together to part ways” after F1 2024’.
The announcement was quite unexpected, but it managed to elicit a chuckle from Red Bull, who responded with a concise statement on Threads.
Alpine F1 has released a statement about Esteban Ocon without our consent, leading to rampant speculation surrounding our forthcoming ‘Stay tuned’ announcement. We acknowledge this situation.
In anticipation of Oscar Piastri’s transition to McLaren, his tweet from 2022, stating “Alpine F1 have released a press release without my consent,” became a topic of discussion.
No room at the Red Bull inn for Esteban Ocon
Red Bull’s “stay tuned” message was definitely not regarding Ocon, as it seems highly improbable for the Frenchman to be included in the future plans of the Milton Keynes team. Furthermore, there are strong indications that Perez is about to secure his re-signing with the team.
That leaves Ocon pondering his future.
“In the Alpine statement, he stated that he would soon reveal his plans, but for now, his complete attention is dedicated to performing well for the team and achieving a prosperous end to the season.”
Despite being a Mercedes junior and still under the management of Toto Wolff, reports suggest that the Brackley team is favoring Andrea Kimi Antonelli over Ocon, leaving him with limited opportunities at the forefront of the grid.
His most likely destinations for F1 2025 are Haas, Audi, and Williams.
Regarding Alpine, Jack Doohan, their reserve driver, is being considered as a potential replacement for Ocon, and it is anticipated that he will be granted opportunities to participate in FP1 sessions during the latter part of the season.
Read next: The day Oscar Piastri sent Formula 1 into epic Twitter meltdown
