Fernando Alonso had an ugly split with Alpine at the end of 2022 when the negotiations for his stay failed. The Spaniard signed for Aston Martin, with Lawrence Stroll accepting all his demands. In hindsight, it’s probably one of the best decisions made by Alonso.
With the Silverstone-based team, Alonso has a 100% podium record in the season’s first three races. On the other hand, Alpine failed into the top five in any of the last three outings, and in the last race, they scored no points after an erratic mistake by Pierre Gasly.
Thus, it would be understandable if Esteban Ocon feels a bit envious of his former teammate Alonso. The duo wasn’t on the best of terms when the Spaniard left the team. But seeing Alonso outclassing him with a new team, the 26-year-old puts an existential question on his team.
Esteban Ocon asks what’s the point if not good as Fernando Alonso
Seeing the unprecedented rise of Aston Martin, any midtable team would want to have that surge in performances. But Ocon demands his team to replicate a similar rise, and if they don’t, then what’s the point of racing?
“We have to in our mind think it is possible, otherwise there’s no point racing,“ said Ocon to Motorsports. “Aston Martin has shown, and fair play to them, that it is possible to make a big step if you find the right things, so it is doable.”
Right now, Alpine is probably the fifth fastest team on the grid, a notch lower than what they targeted. Plus, they had a big setback in Australia after a massive blunder by Gasly. Otherwise, it could have been a solid finish for them as the Frenchman was bringing P5 for them, and Ocon was also finishing the race in points.
Promising signs by Alpine
The season is long, with 20 more races to go. Therefore, every team is expected to bring updates in the coming weeks to optimize their performances. Alpine will also lay such efforts, claims Ocon.
The Hungarian Grand Prix winner claims he has been actively going to the factory amidst the three-week-long break. He reveals that he is seeing some interesting ideas in the car.
But will Alpine make strides over Aston Martin in the remaining part of the season? That remains to be known, as the whole grid is too stiff at the moment, except Red Bull is too superior compared to everyone.
