Esteban Ocon has reiterated his ongoing displeasure with Alpine, amid revelations that he sought an early departure from the team before the end of the 2024 season.
Amid ongoing disputes on and off the track with his compatriot and teammate Pierre Gasly, and ongoing issues with team management, it was disclosed in early June that Ocon and Alpine would part ways by 2025.
Recent developments at the Hungarian GP indicate that Ocon, aged 27, had recently visited the Williams team headquarters for a seat fitting.
According to Blick newspaper and seasoned F1 journalist Roger Benoit, the initial intention was for Ocon to replace the underperforming Logan Sargeant at Williams immediately, aiming to boost the team's standings - against Alpine.
Alpine, however, has refused to release Ocon from his 2024 contract early, though Benoit suggests that a move to Williams post-summer break could still occur.
In light of these developments, Ocon asserted that many of Alpine's issues this year stemmed from the team's longstanding disregard of driver feedback on performance improvement.
"There are a lot of things that were not done as they should have been," he stated in Budapest.
"We (drivers) all said things about the development of the car. A lot of the problems were there a few years ago."
Despite these new connections to Williams, it is widely anticipated that Ocon will actually join Haas full-time from next year, replacing veteran driver Kevin Magnussen.
Haas team leader Ayao Komatsu commented, "I take nothing away from all the contributions and fantastic input Kevin has given to the team to get it to where we are now. What was lacking was consistency. That was the biggest factor."
Komatsu acknowledged that signing rookie Oliver Bearman for 2025 influenced their decision, with an announcement about Ocon's move to Haas expected soon.
"If you look at Nico (Hulkenberg) and Kevin, when it comes to providing a consistent reference, I need a driver closer to Nico's consistency," Komatsu explained.
"But the difference between Kevin and Nico is very small," he added. "The results and the number of points may look quite different in the end, but the decisive factor for the difference is not great. It was a difficult decision to make regarding Kevin," he concluded.
