Esteban Ocon is a driver who likes to keep himself low-key and keep performing without drawing much attention from the fans or the grid in general. The driver hadn’t really been in the discussion until his famous and challenging 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix win, and even then, he kept a low profile and improved tremendously in the next season, thanks to better fitness. In 2022, Ocon’s performances were the crucial and determining factors for Alpine, as it finished P4, ahead of McLaren’s P5, despite not having a single podium across the season.

And, as the Frenchman focused on improving his physicality and planning for 2023, a bad lung virus struck him, causing a serious illness, which is extremely concerning coming from an athlete competing at the highest level of motorsport. This might as well now be termed the “Alpine Curse,” as Fernando Alonso too, during the last off-season, suffered a cycling accident, which took weeks’ worth of time away from training. 

Recalling his recent sickness during the car unveiling, as quoted by Motorsport, Esteban Ocon said, “For a month and a half, I was not really able to go back on the fitness level that I was supposed to have”

“I feel great now. But in such a short period of time, those viruses are strong…So we were quite worried, but we did everything in a way for me to recover as quick as possible and to switch that into full training mode when I was feeling better, and then I climbed massively up. But for a long time it did plateau, and that was when we started to worry.”

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However, the driver insists that he is now back to 100% but was unable to train well for six weeks, taking crucial time away from his preparations as Alpine readies its bid to challenge for the front of the grid.

Ocon is ready to work with Gasly for Alpine

The historical rivalry between Pierre Gasly, who is competing for Alpine this year, and Esteban Ocon isn’t hidden from anyone. And, while the team has attempted to mend or rather smooth things between them ahead of the season, the drivers themselves have acted professionally thus far and intend to continue doing so.

Ocon, much like Gasly, acknowledges the differences that the two have had over the past decade, but commits to working closely with the team, as he said, as quoted by the BBC, “What’s important is we keep those open conversations we are having at the moment and we will have during the season because we are not at the point where we can win every race.”

“We need to develop this car and get the maximum conversation flow going to find ideas moving forwards. I am not worried. It is going to be a great collaboration.”

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Gasly and Ocon’s partnership does hold great potential for the French constructor. But for Otmar to deal with such a pairing would be a task no less easy than any other pairing.