Ocon hopes good friend Schumacher will be his next teammate

Esteban Ocon will have to deal with a new teammate from 2023 onwards. Fernando Alonso leaves Alpine F1 Team after two years for an opportunity with Aston Martin. Although Ocon has no say in his team's decision, he has revealed his preferred new teammate.

Alpine in the middle of silly season soap opera

Shortly after the last race before Formula 1's summer break, it was announced that Alonso will make the switch from Alpine to Aston Martin after the 2022 season. It immediately seemed that this would clear the way for Alpine protégé Oscar Piastri, but as we now know, the Australian has other plans.

As it is not yet certain that Piastri will drive for Alpine next season, the French marque has to look for another suitable replacement for Alonso in the meantime. Daniel Ricciardo is a name often mentioned to return to the team, after it was announced on Wednesday that the Australian will not continue as a driver of McLaren after 2022.

Ocon expresses preference

What is certain is that Ocon will be a driver at Alpine again next season. At The Race the Frenchman has let it be known that he will not interfere and will leave the decision to CEO Laurent Rossi and team boss Otmar Szafnauer, but he does have a preference.

Personally, Ocon would love to race good friend Mick Schumacher as a teammate: "What I would like is for Mick to race with me, that is clear cause he is my good friend, but that is not going into the bosses’ ear. I’ll let them decide."