Esteban Ocon’s “Strong Links” With Mercedes Makes Alpine Boss Dodge Question on 2025 Contract

Finding the replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes is perhaps one of the biggest points of speculation in Formula 1 right now. Such was the impact of his dramatic move to switch to Ferrari in 2025. With one move, the whole driver market has now opened up and not a single team is safe from the reshuffling that will follow. However, when it comes to the seat at Mercedes, there are some prime suspects everyone is talking about. One of those suspects is Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who was, at one point closely tied with the team. And in a recent conversation about the 2025 contract for their drivers, Alpine Boss, Bruno Famin, seemingly avoided the question.

Alpine has recently undergone a huge upheaval in its internal management structure, so the team would prefer to have some sort of stability on the driver’s side of things. And the French duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly does provide them a solid lineup. However, both of their contracts are coming to an end in 2024. Will Alpine look to resign them as quickly as they can? According to Famin, that discussion is for a later time.

Bruno Famin shows confidence in his drivers while avoiding questions about their 2025 contracts

It may seem like there is a whole season left, but Toto Wolff doesn’t have a lot of time on his hands to find Hamilton’s replacement. And Esteban Ocon will be among the top few people on his list to have a conversation with. Even Ocon recently suggested that he still pretty much has very strong links with the Brackley-based team during the launch of Alpine’s 2024 challenger. In light of recent events, Autosport reached out to Bruno Famin to ask about the contract situation at Alpine.

Famin suggested that there is a culture of being constantly in conversation with each other at Alpine. He had spoken to his drivers about their contract both before and after Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari was announced. However, he is not in any kind of rush to extend the contract beyond 2024.

Famin explained, “We’re on that, but there is no decision at all yet. And our priority is much more focused on developing the car and the team, and we are confident with our drivers. They know what we think, and they know also how F1 works. There is no duplicity. And that’s why it’s important to talk regularly to each other, to put everything on the table.“

However, when asked if the team just wanted a bit of certainty about the driver’s situation, he avoided giving a direct answer. “Again, I think we’re happy with them. Let’s wait for the first race and the performance of the car, but I understand they’re happy with the team. Let’s talk a bit later about that,“ he added.

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While Esteban Ocon may still have a good relationship with Mercedes, there’s an opinion out there that his teammate might be a better fit for the Brackley outfit.

Former Ferrari boss claims Pierre Gasly and George Russell will make a good team

While there hasn’t been much of a discussion around Pierre Gasly being a possible contender for the Mercedes seat, Peter Windsor has always ranked the Frenchman very highly on the current F1 grid.

When asked if Gasly would be a good fit for Mercedes in a recent live chat on his Youtube Channel, Windsor commented, “I’ve mentioned this before and again I seem to be a lone voice but I often include Gasly in the tier just below those top three I talk about often, Lewis, Max, and Charles… Gasly and [George] Russell would be a very very strong team in my opinion.”

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Who among the two Alpine drivers might be a better fit for Mercedes? Share your thoughts down below in the comments.