Fernando Alonso hasn’t shied away from commenting on the Alpine duo’s racecraft following his incident with Esteban Ocon.
The complicated relationship between Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon is no secret in F1. Despite the Spaniard playing a pivotal role in Ocon’s only Formula 1 victory, relations have soured.
Last year saw both drivers involved in a fair share of wheel-to-wheel incidents last year. Many of these, including at the Jeddah and Hungarian GP, saw Alonso criticise the Frenchman’s racecraft. Things reached a boiling point at Interlagos last year, eventually forcing Alpine to issue firm team orders before the Sunday Grand Prix’s safety car restart.
Fast-forward to this year, and the two have rarely fought over the same piece of track. The Spaniard boasts a total of 7 podiums in 2023, whilst Ocon’s campaign has been more modest at Team Enstone. With all this context, there seemed an extra layer of animosity as they collided in today’s Sprint shootout.
To be clear, most of the anger came from the Alpine driver. Even after taking time to cool off from his incident, the 27-year-old remained convinced that Alonso was responsible for causing the contact.
With the FIA deciding no further action was necessary regarding their contact, attention swiftly switched to the race. Aston Martin showed strong pace, with the AMR23 validating the form that saw them secure a front-row lockout for the Sunday race.
Alonso sends jibes towards Alpine
Alonso managed to overtake Pierre Gasly in his charge up the field, though not without some close calls. Speaking to Fox Sports, the 42-year-old couldn’t resist firing back at Alpine:
“Whenever there’s an Alpine, you have to be extra careful.
“We made contact into turn 6; they think our car is thinner than what it is.
“And another time, I went on the grass.”
Whilst these comments are only small jibes, they are a reminder of the nature of how Alonso’s relationship with Alpine ended. It is easy to forget that the Spaniard wanted to continue with the French outfit – though the team was unwilling to offer him a multi-year deal.
Twelve months on from his decision to leave Enstone, his decision seems more than validated. Even with Aston Martin’s mid-season hiccup, the last 24 hours show the British outfit is still clearly ahead of their French rivals.
In any case, such dynamics are entertaining and fascinating in equal measure.
