After spending two seasons away from the sport, Fernando Alonso returned to F1 with Alpine in 2021. He reunited with the outfit that helped him win two World Championships, and fans wondered if there was enough left in Alonso’s tank to challenge for a third. The Spaniard teamed up with Frenchman Esteban Ocon at the Enstone-based squad.
Alonso did not look like he was away from F1 for two years, and was at the top of his game, even at 41 years old. In his first year back, he formed a great relationship with the team and Ocon and topped it off with a podium finish at the Qatar GP. However, his second year back was when things started going sour.
The relationship between Ocon and Alonso, which once seemed good, did not seem stable anymore. On top of that, the arrival of new team principal Otmar Szafnauer did not help Alonso and ultimately contributed to him choosing to leave them in 2023. The Oviedo-born driver will race for Aston Martin in 2023, and Ocon admitted that he is relieved with this outcome.
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon’s relationship was fractured beyond repair
In 2021, Alonso and Ocon appeared to gel well together. The former’s heroic defensive work at the Hungarian GP last year helped the 26-year-old get his first-ever F1 win. However, in 2022, issues between the two began to emerge and ended in open criticism aimed at each other.
Ocon and Alonso clashed on track multiple times and came close to making contact. Alonso even sarcastically commented on his teammate’s defensive abilities which did not sit well with the Évreux-born driver. Now that he has left the Alpine camp, Ocon revealed the difficulties of working with his former partner. He felt that Alonso’s reluctance to work put a lot of pressure on himself to fulfill his team’s commitments.
“It’s good that he’s going to Aston Martin and that we’re going our own way,” the 26-year-old said. “Honestly, the work was 98% on my back and 2% on his. I was overworked. I did all the development on the simulator, the marketing trips.”
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Ocon defeats Alonso in their final year as teammates
Alonso has never been shy of controversy and drama in his long and illustrious F1 career, but he’s arguably one of the best racers of all time. The fact that Ocon defeated an all-time great in equal machinery will be a big morale boost for him going into the 2023 season.
Ocon finished the 2022 campaign in P8 with 93 points, 11 ahead of Alonso who followed him in ninth. Former AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly will join Ocon at Alpine in 2023 whereas Alonso will travel to Aston Martin and team up with Lance Stroll.
