Alpine have confirmed that Esteban Ocon will miss the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi with Jack Doohan stepping in to replace the Frenchman.
Ocon has been released early to allow him to drive for new team Haas in the post-season test.
Signs of such a move were first hinted at by Ocon in his post-race press conference in Qatar with the Frenchman thanking the team for their hard work despite having one race to go.
"I would like to thank the team for their hard work over this race and their hard work over the whole year," Ocon told assembled media, including PlanetF1.com.
"When it's going well, it's good to stick together.
"But when it's not going so well the engineers and the mechanics stick together and that's the most important thing."
He ended by saying, "It's important to look ahead and see what we can prepare for the future."
But with confirmation from the team that Ocon has driven his last race, in steps rookie Jack Doohan who has already been confirmed as the team's full-time driver next season.
It is thought that Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore would only allow Ocon to test for Haas if he steppe down and permitted Doohan to take his seat for the season finale.
