Esteban Ocon found out that Alpine wanted him to step down for the final race of the Formula 1 season just hours before the Qatar Grand Prix, Motorsport.com has learned.
Ocon's spell with the French car manufacturer has come to an early end, as he will not take part in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi race with the squad handing Jack Doohan his debut instead.
Taking to social media on Tuesday, Ocon admitted that “this is not how I wanted things to end” as he revealed the special farewell helmet that he had been hoping to use for his last appearance.
But the strange way his exit from the team was arranged has now emerged, with sources revealing that he had been summoned to Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore’s office just hours before the start of the race in Qatar last weekend.
There, it is suggested, he was informed that if he did not accept to end his contract with the team early then he would not be released to test with his future Haas team on the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi GP.
While Haas boss Ayao Komatsu had revealed that an agreement had been reached with Alpine for Ocon to be available for the Tuesday run, an official sign off from the Enstone operation had not been forthcoming up until this point.
It is understood that this prospect of not being released to join Haas for the test was used as leverage for Alpine to move Ocon aside, something which he clearly needed to accept if he wanted not to compromise his future.
Alpine itself did not deny the suggestion that part of the deal between the team and Mercedes, which still has contractual ties to Ocon, involved the element of the Abu Dhabi test.
This was also confirmed by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who said on Sunday night in Qatar: “There's a contractual relationship that Esteban, and we have with Alpine, on driver services and that contract expires at the end of the year. That's the basis.
“Then, if you agree that for the benefit of the future, there's a better solution that allows Esteban to get ready early and is better for us, and if that depends on driving or not in Abu Dhabi, I think this is something we discussed.”
Asked if Ocon would have been blocked from taking part in the test if he had refused to step down for the Abu Dhabi race, Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes said: “I guess Flav and Toto have been discussing that, haven't they? I've been busy racing. It's not my decision to make.”
The move to promote Doohan early comes amid speculation in the paddock about Briatore's interest in Williams driver Franco Colapinto, who could be a contender for a role at Alpine with interest in him from Red Bull cooling down.
The Abu Dhabi race will allow the squad to assess Doohan’s pace against Gasly early, something which the team has already been doing.
It is understood that the Australian was also put to the test a few weeks ago when the team flew Gasly to Qatar for a private run in one of its previous cars to set a benchmark time for Doohan, with paddock sources suggesting that the youngster achieved.
