Esteban Ocon has signed a new three-year deal that will keep him at Alpine until the end of the 2024 Formula One World Championship.
The French driver joined the team at the start of the 2020 season when they raced under the ‘Renault’ name. He previously raced for Manor Racing and Force India, who then become Racing Point Force India for the remainder of the 2018 season.
He was left without a race seat for the 2019 season after Lance Stroll joined the then Racing Point team, owned by his father Laurance Stroll. Ocon took up the role of reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, who manages his career.
After a difficult 2020 campaign alongside seven-time F1 race winner Daniel Ricciardo, Ocon has improved and is currently having a strong season alongside his two-time F1 World Champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.
CEO of Alpine Cars Laurent Rossi said, “We are very proud to retain Esteban as part of the Alpine family. Since returning to the team in 2020, Esteban has grown in confidence and stature to deliver consistently good results and help develop the car with the team. Despite his young age, he is very experienced in Formula 1 and he’s on a positive trajectory in both his maturity and ability behind the wheel. He is a strong asset for us now, and also going forward as we meet the challenge of the new regulations. We have every confidence in Esteban to help drive the team and the brand to the next level and meet its long-term objectives. Esteban is an asset for us beyond F1 as he is deeply involved in the Alpine global project. Thanks to his personality and values, Esteban is naturally a perfect ambassador of Alpine. For now, we look forward to continuing the 2021 campaign at our home Grand Prix in France and doing the best possible job at every remaining race weekend.”
Esteban Ocon added, “I’m delighted to continue with the team beyond this year and it’s a fantastic feeling to secure my future with Alpine. We’ve been progressing well together since I joined the team and I aim to continue that journey going forward. There are great challenges ahead of us, especially with the new regulations in 2022. I’m sure we can hit our targets by working hard together and continuing the story. I often think back to the Sakhir Grand Prix last year with the podium, and it motivates me to create more special memories like that. I’m really looking forward to the next chapter but, for now, we’re very much focused on this season and taking each race as it comes.”