“Disappointed” Esteban Ocon Hits Back at Fernando Alonso for Unnecessarily Sour Criticism

Esteban Ocon has had a superb year with Alpine. He helped the French constructors beat McLaren to finish P4 in the WCC. Moreover, he also finished above the double world champion and his teammate, Fernando Alonso. The duo hasn’t necessarily had the best relationship. Moreover, the French driver feels Alonso’s criticism of him was not justified after the sprint race in Brazil.

The former Racing Point (now Aston Martin) driver finished the season in P8 with 92 points in the WDC. He showed true glimpses of his potential this season, which has been a great positive.

However, his relationship with teammate Fernando Alonso has arguably soured in the process. The duo has often competed against each other as individuals rather than being a team unit. One of the instances occurred in the sprint race and the main race in Interlagos a few weeks back.

In Brazil’s sprint race, Alonso and Ocon collided twice, for which the former was penalized by the stewards. The Spaniard then called out Ocon and criticized him as he took a jibe at him.

But Ocon hit back at his teammate to defend himself. The Frenchman said, “It’s no secret that I was disappointed in seeing his comments after the race. There was no need for some [of the] criticism that he has done.”

READ MORE: Alpine F1 Driver Esteban Ocon Bluntly Puts Down “Legend” Fernando Alonso for His Cutting Media Remarks As Their Relationship Takes Another Hit: “Not Too Nice”

He also added, “But I respect him a lot. I will forever respect him for what he has done on the track over the years. He’s a legend of the sport and that won’t change – but I was a bit disappointed.”

Esteban Ocon opens up about teaming up with Pierre Gasly next season

The tricky relationship that is between Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly is no surprise. The duo doesn’t really look eye-to-eye with each other. However, with the pair now being teamed-up together, they are hoping to put aside their differences and lead an all-French team to glory next season.

Esteban said, “Yeah, we will do. And to be honest, I think it’s an awesome story to tell. I mean, we started go-karting together. That’s pretty crazy. I have a lot of fantastic memories obviously with Pierre when we were kids.”

He also said, “But I think it would be great to collaborate together. It’s not only myself now from Normandy, we are all three from Normandy, me, Pierre and the brand.”

Ocon’s relationship with Sergio Perez at Racing Point wasn’t on great terms either. The duo collided with each other on multiple occasions, which cost their teams important points.

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Given Ocon’s dicey history with his teammates, it will be intriguing to see how he handles next season with Pierre.