Esteban Ocon lashes out at Alpine: “We haven’t been listened to”

Esteban Ocon has criticised Alpine for not listening to feedback from their drivers.

Ocon has confirmed that he will join Haas in 2025, ending a relationship with Alpine which turned feisty this year.

He was scolded by his bosses after making contact with teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco.

Ocon told Sky Sports about his exit: “There were other options. We did talk to various different teams, from mid-2023.

“I’ve done what I need to do with Alpine. We achieved my first win. We had good moments but some more difficult ones.

“It’s not a secret that it’s been frustrating lately, not having a good car.

“We haven’t been listened to, the way we should have been. Myself, Pierre [Gasly], Daniel [Ricciardo], Fernando [Alonso].

“We’ve said things about the car that haven’t been tackled, haven’t been fixed.

“We end up with issues from three or four years ago that we still have today. This isn’t possible in Formula 1.”

'He's sitting with an Alpine cap on'

The timing of Ocon’s criticism of Alpine has caught some by surprise.

Although his days within the team are numbered, half of the 2024 season still remains.

“I’m surprised he said it now,” Sky Sports’ Naomi Schiff said.

“Yes, he’s leaving, but he’s sitting with an Alpine cap on. There are 10 more races, still with the team.

“It’s funny how these drivers make it seem everything is going really well then, when they leave, the truth comes out!

“As a driver, you want to be listened to. Engineers look at numbers and they see something different to what the drivers say, that can happen. Drivers are not always 100%.

“But of course, everybody’s needs need to be met. It doesn’t sound like he felt that was the case.

“In some ways, the results do show. You can tell with the constant management changes.”

At the F1 Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, Bruno Famin announced he will soon depart as team principal.

It is only a year since Otmar Szafnauer left the same job, amid a wider exodus from Alpine.

Famin also revealed the team are considering becoming an engine customer for the 2026 regulations.

Bernie Collins said about Ocon’s criticism of the team: “We’ve all worked in teams where it needs one person to speak out and hopefully it brings change.

“The driver, I describe as the most expensive that we have in the car.

“The first thing we ask in a debrief is: what is your biggest limitation?

“You need the driver to be comfortable, to do exactly what you want.

"It’s not a PlayStation. They need to feel confidence in the car to meet the braking point, lap after lap.

“Drivers are not robots. They are individuals.

“We talk about developing a car around a driver. That doesn’t sound like it’s happening. Developing a car around one driver is one thing, but developing it around neither is a big problem!”

Ocon went seventh-fastest in FP2 on Friday at the Belgian Grand Prix.