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Esteban Ocon made it abundantly clear during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix how he feels about Fernando Alonso leaving Alpine for Aston Martin in 2023.
When speaking with French media that weekend, the Frenchman said, per ESPN, “It's good that he's going to Aston Martin and that we're going our own way. 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.”
Tension within the Alpine camp and between the former teammates became evident as the season started wrapping up. Alonso was more critical of Ocon and the team, with it all coming to a head during the penultimate race weekend in Brazil. The two of the collided and later pointed fingers at each other, the stewards later finding Alonso at fault.
The Spaniard didn’t feel that the two of them needed to smooth things over, proceeding to tell the media that Saturday, “No, not really. I don’t need. It’s one more race then it’s over, finally.”
Ocon expressed to the French press at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that he “was disappointed by that [Alonso’s] comments were made in the press and not internally. We didn't have any discussions about any of that. I will keep the respect I have for him.”
With Alonso heading to Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly will fill the vacancy at Alpine next season. The two Frenchman have known each other since their karting days and reportedly have had an up and down relationship. However, Ocon expressed that he’s “excited” for Gasly to join.
