Fernando Alonso had quite an uphill task at the Spanish Grand Prix after starting from P8. He did not make much headway and finished the race in P7 behind his teammate Lance Stroll. But the Spaniard pulled off a brilliant move on his former teammate Esteban Ocon in the process. While making the move, Ocon tried to defend his position in a very dangerous manner. A move that has drawn criticism from various people, including former F1 driver Martin Brundle, who labeled Ocon as ‘a monster’
The incident happened on lap 51 of the Spanish Grand Prix when Alonso made a move on Ocon into turn 1. The duo was racing on the main straight, with Alonso following Ocon with his DRS open. In an attempt to defend his position, Ocon made a wild move to the right side of the track, trying to close the door. However, Alonso used all his experience and skill to maneuver his car around Ocon and complete the move.
Alonso and Ocon nearly collide! 😳
Brundle 🎙️ “That’s too late. You can’t do that. You have to place your car earlier than that.” pic.twitter.com/p7aMFDk3Gf
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 4, 2023
Alonso hasn’t had the best of relationships with Ocon. The two were teammates at Alpine in 2021 and 2022 before Alonso moved to Aston Martin. Quite a bit of tension had crept in between them towards the end of Alonso’s stint at Alpine. Things boiled over when the two made contact at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and it has stayed like that till now.
Since then, Alonso has taken quite a few subtle digs at his ex-teammate this year, and their relationship hasn’t improved much. Probably the battle between the two reflected the ongoing tensions between the two. But for Brundle, the move by Ocon was unjustified on every ground.
Martin Brundle criticizes Esteban Ocon for that devilish move on Fernando Alonso
Former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle has criticized Esteban Ocon’s late move to defend his position. He explained that it is not acceptable to be moving at the very last moment when a car is trying to overtake.
The F1 pundit said, as per the Spanish website, Mintod, “That defense came too late. You can’t do that. You have to position the car before they get to you like that. Ocon is a lovely guy, but when he puts the helmet on he becomes a monster.”
DAZN commentator Roldan Rodriguez backed up Brundle’s claims. Rodriguez explained that the move from Ocon seemed very out of place. The move caused Alonso to put his wheels on the grass while he was traveling at 320 Kmph with his DRS open. It could have very well ended in a disastrous crash.
Aston Martin’s plans for the future
Aston Martin has had a brilliant start to the 2023 season. However, their pace was slightly off in Barcelona, and Alonso could only manage a P7 finish. Mercedes overtook them in the Constructors Championship after the Silver Arrows brought in upgrades that greatly improved their performance.
Aston Martin will also bring in upgrades for the Canadian Grand Prix. Team principal Mike Krack has already confirmed that, “There will be something coming in Canada. It will be a step.” Only time will tell whether it will be a big enough step forward.
But Alonso has already warned his biggest Nemesis, Hamilton, that his side would fly to Canada to crush Mercedes. So, an action-packed race in Montreal can be expected.
