Jun.3 (GMM) Esteban Ocon will definitely not be relegated to the bench at this weekend’s Canadian GP.
The Alpine driver was heavily criticised by his furious team boss Bruno Famin after Ocon’s collision with teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco.
Some reports suggest Williams subsequently ruled him out of contention for 2025, while rumours swirled that Ocon may be punished by Alpine with an internal race ban.
L’Equipe says the claims about a race suspension were wide of the mark.
“According to our information, he (Ocon) will be in Montreal,” the French sports daily said, “but he will not continue with the French brand beyond the end of his (2024) contract.”
In a lengthy sequence of tweets posted on X, 27-year-old Ocon confirmed that he will be racing 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 said.
Ocon added that he was “saddened” by some of the post-Monaco coverage, insisting: “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 said.
Ocon denied he ignored Alpine’s pre-race team “instructions”, and reiterated that he has already taken “responsibility” for causing the crash.
It’s tough times at Alpine at present, with long-time operations director Rob White now departing as the Enstone and Viry based team works its way out of a performance slump.
Team boss Famin, however, hailed the outfit’s success in getting the previously hefty 2024 car down to the minimum weight, and said the car’s performance is not as bad as is being reported.
“contrary to popular belief, the A524 goes much faster than the A523,” he told France’s 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.”