“Simply Madness”: With the Dust Settling on 2022 Tussle, Esteban Ocon’s Former Teammate Praises Fernando Alonso’s Unreal Longevity

F1 has the power of turning friends into foes. Everyone remembers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s rivalry. But hardly anyone recalls them being friends before that. The same goes for Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. As the duo get back to being normal, Ocon’s former teammate praised Alonso for his resilience. With the dust still not fully settled, let’s find out what Ocon’s former teammate had to say about his nemesis.

Fernando Alonso was Esteban Ocon’s hero during the 2021 F1 season. The Spaniard defended like a lion against Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Hungarian GP keeping the Briton at bay. This made sure that Esteban Ocon got his maiden F1 victory. However, there were many flashpoints in 2o22 that turned the relationship sour. Ocon pushing Alonso into the wall to defend at Jeddah, the Frenchman defending in a dangerous way at Hungaroring and the crash at the Brazilian GP sprint were the major flashpoints.

As the dust settles, Pascal Wehrlein, who was Estaban Ocon’s teammate in 2016 during the Manor days, has praised Fernando Alonso. The German suggests how amazing Alonso is to still deliver at the pinnacle of motorsports. The Spaniard is still performing like his peak years even at 41 years of age and it doesn’t feel forced. Wehrlein suggested that it is complete madness how Alonso was able to extract performance from all the cars he drove in different eras. Despite taking a break from F1, the Spanish minister of defense came back stronger.

According to motorsport-total.com, Pascal Wehrlein said, “I find it very impressive what Alonso delivers for a performance. But still, it probably feels natural to him. It is simply madness to be able to deliver this performance of cars in so many different aes of cars – even at his age and also after a comeback. You can only take your hat off to it.”

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Fernando Alonso mentioned at the 2022 Brazilian GP how he was happy to leave the team with only 1 race remaining while pointing fingers at the broken relationship with Ocon. Yet, Fernando Alonso is the one laughing now as he has already scored three podiums in three races. Many believed it was Alonso who was the problematic one. But Mike Krack has recently come out praising Alonso’s attitude and leadership.

Mike Krack has nothing but praise for Fernando Alonso

Many doubted Fernando Alonso’s decision to join Aston Martin. The Silverstone-based team has silenced all those doubts with its performance making Alonso the happiest we’ve seen in a long while. Mike Krack suggested how the Spaniard brings a lot of motivation and positive energy to the team. He arrives early, works hard, and leads by example. Everybody around looks at him and gets motivated to work harder and better.

According to Formula1.com, Mike Krack said, “He brought a lot of energy, a lot of positiveness when he arrived. He is leading by example at all times. He’s there very early, he’s working really hard, and it is this lead-by-example that everybody just sees and grabs on and gives an extra level of motivation. I think the singing of the name was like a confirmation also for him that he really brought a lot into the team.”

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What effect will Pascal Wehrlein’s comments about Fernando Alonso have on Esteban Ocon?