Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were involved in a major accident during the Sprint Shootout. While Esteban Ocon had to retire after crashing into the wall, Fernando Alonso suffered a lot of damage to his car and couldn’t go out during SQ2.
Towards the end of SQ1, Esteban Ocon had started his hot lap as he was trying to get himself out of the bottom 5. Fernando Alonso had just ended his flying lap and had moved to the right side of the track to make way for Ocon. However, Ocon lost control of his car while coming out of the opening corner. He crashed into Fernando Alonso’s front right tire and ended up in the wall.
Although Alonso was able to make his way back to the garage, the mechanics were not able to get the car ready in time for SQ2. As a result, Fernando Alonso was forced to start from the 15th position during the Sprint race. This was a shame as the Aston Martin did have better pace. The day before, Alonso and Stroll qualified 4th and 3rd respectively. Alonso could have made it into SQ3 if he had the opportunity to do so.
The dramatic scenes in #F1Sprint Shootout that saw Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon make contact! 🤯#BrazilGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/viBlEaHnJN
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 4, 2023
After the incident, Esteban Ocon was quick to blame Fernando for the accident. However, after reviewing the footage of the crash, it is clear that Esteban lost control of his Alpine. Fernando Alonso knew that he had given Ocon enough space to pass.
Esteban Ocon has often been considered to be an unsportsmanlike driver. He is always quick to blame the other driver for accidents. One memorable incident was during the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon was a lap behind the race leader, Max Verstappen. However, since Esteban had fresher tires, he had the opportunity to unlap himself and chose to do so. In doing so, he crashed into Max and cost him the race win.
How did Fernando Alonso react to Esteban Ocon’s blame game?
After the Sprint Shootout, Alonso was asked about his incident with Ocon. To this, he replied:
“Whenever there’s an Alpine, you have to be extra careful. We made contact into turn 6; they think our car is thinner than what it is. And another time, I went on the grass.”
Before joining Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso was driving for Alpine. He also has a successful history with the team. He won his only 2 Championships with the team back when they were called Renault. However, he left the team after the 2022 season. It’s safe to say that he burned a few bridges there while leaving.
Before the 2022 summer break, he had a conversation with the team principal, Otmar Szaufnauer, and guaranteed that he would be extending his contract with the team. However, a few days into the summer break, it was announced that he signed with Aston Martin to replace Sebastian Vettel who had decided to retire from the sport. This caught Alpine with their pants down as they were not prepared for this.
🚨 | Fernando Alonso fires shots at the Alpine drivers:
“Whenever there’s an Alpine, you have to be extra careful.”
See his full quotes below 👀https://t.co/ePnWHP4Lkv
— formularacers (@formularacers_) November 4, 2023
Alpine reacted by announcing Oscar Piastri as their driver for 2023, however, Oscar released a statement saying that he has not agreed to drive for Alpine for the 2023 season. A few days later, it was announced that he had already signed a contract to drive for McLaren.
Fernando Alonso did not have a lot of good memories while driving alongside Ocon as well. There were a number of times when Alonso helped Ocon with a good result, but when Ocon had the opportunity to return the favor, he failed to do so. So it is no surprise that Fernando Alonso does not have any kind words for Alpine or Ocon.