MARCH 4, 2021
Alpine cannot rely only on Alonso says Ocon
Esteban Ocon says he is not worried that Alpine will essentially become Fernando Alonso's team in 2021.
© Alpine
Esteban Ocon says he is not worried that Alpine will essentially become Fernando Alonso's team in 2021.
Frenchman Ocon, 24, is the incumbent at the rebranded Enstone based outfit, but after Alonso's two-year F1 sabbatical he is being joined by the team's double champion Alonso this season.
"The team will listen to me too," Ocon insisted to Auto Motor und Sport.
"I drove the car all season in 2020 and the 2021 car is a further development of that," he said. "Therefore, my comparisons are valuable for the engineers.
"The team policy is to hear both drivers," Ocon insisted. "They will not just rely on Fernando."
However, Ocon was generally outclassed by his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo, but the Frenchman insists: "I know what needs to be improved and what I have to work on."
Alpine's new racing director Davide Brivio confirms that Ocon is an important part of the F1 lineup.
"Esteban is young but he has good experience - last year he showed he has talent and speed," he said.
"I can't wait to see his improvements from 2020," Brivio, a prominent former MotoGP team chief, added. "He will learn from Fernando but Fernando will also have to learn from him."
(GMM)