F1 star leaves door open to replace Hamilton at Mercedes with ‘this year’ claim

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Esteban Ocon has left a door open to replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes following his switch to Ferrari, with the French driver only ‘totally dedicated’ to Alpine for 2024.

The 27-year-old helped launch his Enstone outfit’s car for the new season this Wednesday beside teammate Pierre Gasly. But Ocon faces an uncertain future with Alpine as he is out of contract after this year. So, his name is naturally in the mix to replace Hamilton at Mercedes.

Alpine have unveiled two liveries for their A524, which embraces an ‘aggressive’ new design philosophy, as well. Ocon will hope their new machine marks an improvement on their A523 from 2023. The Renault-owned squad regressed from fourth to sixth in the team’s standings.

Alpine star Esteban Ocon could replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton

Ocon also fell from eighth place in the 2022 drivers’ championship with 92 points into 12th with 58 last year. The Evreux native still managed to return to the podium for the first time since winning the 2021 Hungarian GP, nonetheless, with his third place for the Monaco GP.

Another podium or more in 2024 could now help Ocon convince Mercedes to name him as Hamilton’s replacement for 2025. Being out of contract in Enstone beyond this year has put the Frenchman in contention for the soon-to-be vacant seat with Hamilton going to Ferrari.

Esteban Ocon admits he ‘still has strong links’ with Mercedes

Ocon even added fuel to the potential of a reunion with Mercedes at the launch of Alpine’s 2024 F1 car. He joined the Silver Arrows’ driver academy after winning the 2015 GP3 Series title. The Frenchman also remained a part of their fold through 2019 before joining Renault.

“I, obviously, still have strong links with Mercedes,” Ocon has told Sky Sports News. “I’m still a Mercedes junior driver, that is no secret to anyone. But I’m totally dedicated to Alpine this year. I’ve got 24 races to get through and we’ll see where we end up.”

Ocon left the Mercedes ranks after 2019 to join Renault before the French automotive giant rebranded its F1 entry as Alpine in 2021. But Ocon has stayed close to the Brackley outfit as Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is also his manager. The pair joined forces back in 2015.

Having strong ties with Mercedes helped Ocon break into F1 at Manor midway through the 2016 season. Manor used Mercedes engines and Ocon’s early promise for the minnows led him to join Force India – also Mercedes-powered – across the 2017 and 2018 F1 campaigns.