Esteban Ocon made history in 2021 when he won the first race for Renault-backed group Alpine since their return to Formula 1. In the year of Red Bull and Mercedes’ hectic battle, Ocon winning was something refreshing. It was a moment to cherish, and seeing the environment, his former teammate Fernando Alonso had an important message.
Like Ocon, Alonso also had his first win with Renault’s F1 team. Therefore, seeing the similarity, the Spaniard told the Frenchman to enjoy the most he could as he couldn’t do it during his first taste of success.
“I remember Fernando telling me just to enjoy the moment because he couldn’t do that when he won his first race. So yeah, we celebrated, and he [Alonso] sang. So that was great,” said Ocon on P1 with Matt and Tommy podcast.
Fernando Alonso played a pivotal role in his win
While Alonso was happy with his teammate winning, he played a crucial role in Ocon bagging his only F1 win. Lewis Hamilton was clearly the fastest person on the track in that race with his W12.
However, for 11 laps, Alonso gave one of the best career defense display against his arch-rival. In the end, Hamilton managed to overtake the Spaniard, but by then, it was too late for the Briton to chase the race leader Ocon successfully.
If even Alonso had let Hamilton go through within half of the laps he actually defended, then Hamilton could have contested for the win. But that performance indeed sealed Ocon’s first-ever victory in the apex motorsport series.
Friends became foes
The Hungarian Grand Prix 2021 was the peak of relations between Alonso and Ocon. But soon after that, their camaraderie deteriorated due to certain performance conflicts.
By the end of their stint together, they came close to colliding with each other on several occasions. The two-time world champion after the 2022 season then traded his services to Aston Martin, yet he hasn’t forgotten his former teammate’s behavior.
Recently, Alonso took a dig at Ocon, comparing the latter with Stroll. He said teammates like Stroll benefit the team, unlike last year, whereas, per him, Ocon wanted to ‘attack’ him.
