In a Formula 1 as competitive as the current one, the professional and personal relationship between drivers of the same team can affect the results. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon know it well.
The 2021 season of Alpine It has been somewhat gray, but there is no doubt that the great results of the team in two specific races, the Hungaroring (Ocon’s victory) and Qatar (Alonso’s third place), came largely as a result of the ability of its members to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.
And that is partly due to the excellent professional and personal relationship that its two starting drivers have: Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, who have known how to work as a team on and off the track to end the season with a podium and a victory as the best results.
“At the beginning of the year, Esteban was determined to show Fernando how fast he is”
Marcin Budkowski, CEO of Alpine F1, believes that much of the success comes from their predisposition to work as a team. “Every pair of drivers is different, but this one is certainly fantastic to watch. In a way it is like an older brother and younger brother relationship between Fernando and Esteban. Esteban certainly admires Fernando for his career and achievements.
Marcin budkowski He admits that in the first races both were compared to determine in what situation they would be compared to each other, but that did not prevent the collective benefit of the team from continuing to be the most important.
“At the beginning of the year, Esteban was determined to show Fernando how fast he is, and he did it on a few occasions. I think Esteban earned a lot of respect from Fernando when he saw how fast he could be. So the two measured and observed each other. But they also get along very well ”, highlights the Polish engineer.
Teamwork
Alpine’s two great results in 2021 came after excellent teamwork by both drivers. At the Hungaroring, Fernando Alonso held off Lewis Hamilton for 11 laps to allow Esteban Ocon to win.
And in Qatar, the Frenchman slowed down Sergio Pérez to preserve the Spanish podium. «The two races in which we finished on the podium, in both races they helped each other and almost without the need for the team to underline it. Fernando knew exactly what he was doing in Budapest to help Esteban win this race, and when Fernando jokingly asked Esteban to help him in Qatar, Esteban knew exactly what the race situation was and he was very willing to do it. ” .
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«It was great to see him. We have seen it on the track, but we see it every day in the reports, throughout the race preparation. They respect each other, help each other and work together to get the best results for the team », ends a satisfied Budkowski.
Hopefully in 2022, the Alpine drivers will maintain this team spirit that has brought so many benefits to the Anglo-French team so far. A situation that is possibly only comparable to that of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari. Would a hypothetical world title fight change things?