“He puts a lot of dedication into the team”– Fernando Alonso is impressed by the dedication of his Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon.
After his two-year-long absence from Formula 1, Fernando Alonso returned to Alpine (formerly known as Renault). Though, he has not been an influential presence in the two races.
The former world champion is now full of praises about his teammate Esteban Ocon, who is now in the second year with the team and is expected to progress with the side.
“Definitely I’m impressed and I’m happy to have Esteban alongside me,” Alonso said. “He’s very professional, he works very hard, not only here trackside but also in the simulator.”
“We shared a lot of stuff. While either of us is in the simulator, we try to be connected and work towards a better car. I know that he puts a lot of dedication into the team. It’s good for both drivers when you have a teammate who works very hard, so he’s doing that.
“At the same time you want to be as fast as your teammate or a little bit faster every time. This time [in Imola qualifying] it didn’t work into that way, but I will try the next one.”
Fernando Alonso is a mentor.
For Ocon, the experience with Alonso is a massive learning experience for the French race driver, and he apparently is enjoying being his teammate so far.
“It is great chance to work with a world champion next to me, he is one of the top drivers out there,” Ocon said. “A lot of people have told me things about him, and what I am seeing from the inside, I am really enjoying the cooperation so far.”
“Fernando has a lot of honesty, so when he says something, he means it. We have very similar comments about the car, and it is working really well. He has been very nice to me so far, and he was one of the guys I was looking up to when I was younger.
“It is very special for me to have a cooperation with Fernando, and I think it is going to be close all year.”
