Alpine announced Monday it has dropped Esteban Ocon for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, replacing him with Jack Doohan, son of motorcycle racer Mick.
Doohan will make his Formula One debut at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday after the team released departing Ocon early.
The French driver had had a nightmare of a season and the last races, with the exception of the Brazilian GP, haven’t gone well for him. Most recently, Ocon was involved in a crash at the start of the race in Qatar which forced him to retire. He had qualified last for the start.
“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,” team boss Oliver Oakes told the media.
He added that Doohan would be able to “get those butterflies gone now rather than next year in Australia,” when the opening race of the season takes place on March 16.