F1 team discovers driver joins rival after checking car’s tracking device | F1

Alpine CEO Marcin Budkowski says “everyone” in the team knew Esteban Ocon would leave after they noticed the driver parked his company car in a rival car park for five hours.

Last month, Alpine confirmed it was parting ways with Ocon at the end of the season after five years together, and he was quickly linked with Williams before eventually joining Haas alongside rookie Oliver Bearman.

Ocon was a free agent going into next season and met up with Williams during the week of the British Grand Prix, although his current team only found out about it from car tracking data provided to him by Alpine.

Budkowski explained to Viaplay Polska: “He (Ocon) was in Enstone before the Silverstone race and when he is there he drives an Alpine that was lent to him as a company car.

“But these cars have trackers, GPS. So it turned out that his Alpine was parked in the Williams car park for five hours while Esteban was in the UK, and so everyone at Alpine knew that Esteban had spent half a day there.

“I don’t think (he was aware). But let’s be honest, the team didn’t extend his contract so Esteban could talk to other teams. It’s just a funny situation that it happened like that.”

Williams team principal James Vowles later confirmed that Ocon had met with members of the team who are still searching for team-mate Alex Albon, after it was confirmed that Logan Sargeant would not keep his seat.

“Esteban came in not to fit a real seat, but I wanted to evaluate him for the 2025 and 2026 season,” Vowles told Autosport.

“I had to do it because I have to make sure if he fits in the car or not. Because he is, like Alex, a tall guy, but his dimensions are a bit difficult in some dimensions.”

Vowels confirmed that Ocon was “definitely in the running” for next season, but the two parties failed to reach an agreement on a 2025 season.

“I think where he is now, our paths won’t cross and I think that’s a shame because there are some things that I think could work,” the boss explained. “But there are others that I don’t think will work in our timeframe. But I can say that I’m sure he’ll have a very successful future in Formula 1.”

Less than a week after Ocon’s not-so-secret meeting with Williams, Haas confirmed it had signed a multi-year contract with the tall Frenchman to partner Ferrari rookie Bearman.