Alpine could give Australian Jack Doohan his Formula 1 race debut at next weekend’s Abu Dhabi season-ender as replacement for soon-to-depart Esteban Ocon, team boss Oliver Oakes said on Sunday.
There was no official confirmation from the Renault-owned team but Oakes told reporters Ocon’s early release was being discussed, although no decision had been made yet.
“I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack in early. I think you could say from Esteban’s side it’s good to move on early,” he explained. “I think it suits everybody. So I think the discussion is quite natural really.”
Oakes said Doohan, the reserve driver and son of motorcycle great Mick, would be able to “get those butterflies gone now rather than next year in Australia.”
The 21-year-old is due to take Ocon’s place next season, which starts in Melbourne, with the Frenchman moving to Haas.
An early exit would also allow Ocon, who still has a Mercedes contract, to test for Haas in Abu Dhabi after the season-ender.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said he would be speaking to Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore on Monday.
“If you agree that, for the benefit of the future, there’s a better solution that allows Esteban to get ready early and better for Haas – and if that depends on driving or not in Abu Dhabi – this is something we discussed today and we’re going to talk about it tomorrow,” said the Austrian.
Alpine are sixth overall and only five points clear of closest rivals Haas. Ocon retired from Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix after colliding with Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg and Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
“I would like to thank the team for, you know, their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year,” Ocon told reporters in what sounded very much like farewell comments.
French teammate Pierre Gasly finished a strong fifth on Sunday.
