Esteban Ocon's damning Alpine verdict lifts the lid on the extent of the team's deficiencies

Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon claimed that he had planned to leave the team long back due to the lack of development in the technical department. The French team has been under scrutiny for their performances in the 2024 season, given they are one of the few works outfits on the grid that develop both the chassis and the engine in-house.

However, the Enstone-based outfit let go of some key people in the technical department like Matt Harman and Alan Permane ahead of the new season and slipped back from midfield to the lower end of the grid alongside Williams F1 and Sauber.

While speaking to PlanetF1, Esteban Ocon reflected on his journey with Alpine F1 since he first joined in 2020, admitting that he faced more difficult times than happier ones during his five-year stay. He said:

“The decision for me was quite clear. [I decided] quite a long time ago that I wanted a new challenge. We’ve achieved good things, we’ve achieved things a little bit more difficult at times. It’s not a secret to anyone, no one’s happy inside the team about where we are and there hasn’t been enough of an improvement on some terms, on some technical issues, that we had years ago."

"That circle of technical development and improvement hasn’t been on top of that and we are facing the issues that we had already three years ago with the current car, which is not possible in terms of the Formula 1 world," he added.

Esteban Ocon gives his take on joining Haas F1 for the 2025 season

Esteban Ocon stated that he was excited to be joining an 'ambitious' outfit like the Haas F1 team for the 2025 season and beyond in a multi-year deal while driving alongside rookie Ollie Bearman.

As per F1.com, the Frenchman was grateful to team owner Gene Haas and team principal Ayao Komatsu for giving him the opportunity. He said:

“I’ll be joining a very ambitious racing team, whose spirit, work ethic, and undeniable upward trajectory have really impressed me. I’d like to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for their trust and support and for our honest and fruitful discussions these last few months."

He also pointed out that the American team had "exciting plans and clear targets for the future" and he was "very much looking forward to working with everyone in Kannapolis, Banbury, and Maranello, and being part of this great project.”

Esteban Ocon was also touted to be in the running for seats at Williams and Audi, but chose the American outfit due to his previous association with Komatsu, who was the engineer when he first tested in F1 for the Lotus F1 team in 2014.