Damon Hill shares who he thinks should replace Esteban Ocon at Alpine

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As the Formula 1 driver market starts to take shape attention has turned to Alpine and who will lineup alongside Pierre Gasly.

Alpine has a tough case to make out of the remaining seats having recently gone through their third team principal within a year, with former Hitech F2 boss Oliver Oakes taking over from Bruno Famin.

The team has also shown zero pace and committed a series of tactical errors in both qualifying and races, while also suffering from technical retirements.

Esteban Ocon is also set to leave having come to a mutual understanding with Alpine, with the Frenchman moving to Haas alongside rookie Oliver Bearman for 2025.

Gasly has renewed his contract with Alpine for the foreseeable, but there is some debate over who might pair him. Mick Schumacher is seen as a potential option having impressed in Alpine’s World Endurance Championship entry this year, while they also have Formula 2 racer Jack Doohan waiting in the wings.

Both Schumacher and Doohan took part in tests with Alpine before the summer break and while the Australian came out on top, it was Schumacher who posted the best race times.

Martin Brundle believes Doohan is in pole position to replace Ocon, while Damon Hill also believes the Australian will be a good fit when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

Damon Hill names Jack Doohan as the ideal Esteban Ocon replacement at Alpine

Doohan had a promising junior career but has failed to match the results of a driver like Oscar Piastri, who was previously part of the Alpine Academy before he was poached by McLaren in 2022.

The likelihood of Doohan getting a seat on the grid for next year is uncertain, but Hill believes he would be a good option for Alpine to entertain having shown progress behind the scenes.

“Jack is a very professional driver. I think he’s acquitted himself well and he’s shown he can race,” said Hill.

“He’s smart and inquisitive. He seems to be there asking all the questions and doing the groundwork with the team. So yeah, I think he’ll be an interesting guy to give a crack to definitely.”

Who will get the second Alpine seat?

There are several options that Alpine could go with for 2025, with two stand-out experienced drivers in the form of Schumacher or former Academy driver Zhou Guanyu.

Zhou was reported as a potential avenue for Alpine given the substantial financial package he could bring to the team, also as his future with Sauber appears uncertain.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan? Everything you need to know

F2 racer Victor Martins is seen as an outsider choice given his lack of experience, while also failing to improve his results in the feeder category.

Doohan recently completed private tests at Silverstone, Imola and Spa, meaning he is likely to be the frontrunner for the seat alongside Schumacher.