Wolff: Ocon must first speak with Alpine about 2022 Date published: May 12 2021 Toto Wolff says it is up to Esteban Ocon and Alpine to decide if they want to continue together next season – only then would Mercedes enter the conversation. Although Ocon arrived in Formula 1 as a Mercedes junior driver, placed at Racing Point by Wolff, that link proved costly as he sought a new team for the 2019 season. With none of Mercedes’ rivals open to signing him if he maintained his Mercedes links, Ocon spent a year as the team’s reserve driver before eventually severing those ties and joining Renault, now Alpine.