Alonso happy his Alpine F1 career is finally almost over
Nov.13 - Fernando Alonso in Brazil shattered the illusion that his Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon was ever his "friend".
The pair clashed during Saturday's sprint race at Interlagos, and afterwards 41-year-old Alonso admitted he will be relieved when the season ends in Abu Dhabi next week.
"One more race and it's over - finally," said the Spaniard, who has also blasted the Renault-owned team's reliability record this year ahead of his 2023 move to Aston Martin.
On the radio after the second touch, Alonso said: "I just lost my front wing, thanks to my friend."
It was Alonso who was penalised for that contact in Brazil, but the two-time champion said he will not be sitting down with Ocon to clear the air.
"Not really. I don't need to," he said.
"I was very close to the wall in Jeddah, close to the wall in Budapest, today in turn 4," Alonso insisted. "Last year it was several times.
"This is the way things are. Yeah - one more race."
Team boss Otmar Szafnauer, however, pointed the finger at both of Alpine's drivers, insisting they both "let our workforce of over 1000 employees down".
"I blame Esteban for the first incident and Fernando for the second," he said.
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"One more race and it's over - finally..." Oh-my-God! Rarely does a driver make an un-complimentary comment about the Team as a whole. But frankly, were it not for Fernando's extra-ordinary talent, Alpine would have been sucking hind-tit for the whole season.
Then there is Esteban Ocon. A reliable mid-field finisher with an aggressive style of driving, pushing his team-mate wide in his most recent outing. It may not have been as egregious as Knuckles punting Vettel onto the lawn, but the consequences for Alonso, and the team, were significant.
I get it, not everyone can hope for a Bottas as a #2. Calm, talented, experienced and accepting of his status and willing to ride-shotgun for his team-mate. Not Ocon - oh, no. It's a toss-up as to who is the least polite between Knuckles and Esteban.
Hopefully, Alonso won't have to put up with this BS at Aston Martin.
Yeah, Stroll will have much less stupid moves next year. He already almost killed his new teammate in Austin! Hahaha
Can't wait for next season. Gasley VS Ocon and Alonso VS Stroll. Will be fun to watch both Frenchies "old" friends and the most talented driver VS the least talented...
Bottas wasn't second rate to LH out of choice, he just wasn't as fast for season after season.
I'm happy too, Alonso; in fact, your career is getting closer to the finish line every day.
Alonso better win next year at Aston Martin. In spite of his past victories, he talks better than he drives. One small point, if it weren’t for Alpine giving him a ride, where would he have been this year? Shameful behavior and very unprofessional spouting off against a team that allowed him to resurrect his career. Not impressed!
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