“I didn’t want to be the one touching him in his last race!” Esteban Ocon looks back at ‘stressful but fun’ battle with Sebastian Vettel in Abu Dhabi

Esteban Ocon finished the season finale in Abu Dhabi P7, capping off a decent year for the Frenchman. He is next to ‘best of the rest’ finisher Lando Norris (albeit 30 points behind). In Abu Dhabi, Ocon spent a fair amount of time battling with Sebastian Vettel, who was competing in his final race outright.

While Ocon and Vettel jockeyed for position, Fernando Alonso, who had said he will ‘take care’ of the German at the start seemed to be doing exactly that and keeping his distance. Ocon was able to keep Vettel behind until his pitstop on lap 14, while the four-time world champion was on a one-stop strategy and pit on lap 26, which didn’t work as well as hoped, and he eventually finished P10.

While his teammate retired from the race, Ocon finished P7, one place behind Norris, same order as the WDC (but in 6-7 instead of 7-8). As per Autosport.com, when discussing his tussles with Vettel, the Frenchman said it was ‘fun’, but ‘also ‘a bit stressful’: “I didn’t want to be the one touching him in his last race! But yeah, it was a good fight. And a fair fight, like always with Seb. It was good fun.”

While Alonso wanted to avoid any incidents (with Vettel or otherwise), Ocon was instead focused on keeping Vettel behind the best way he can. He also added that the degradation and tyre struggle improved after the pit stop: “I knew when I was going to pit. Our fresher tyres were struggling, particularly on the medium. But after that it was better.”

Also Read: After 15 glorious years at the wheel, Sebastian Vettel bids an emotional goodbye to Formula 1 

Esteban Ocon lost ‘two-and-a-half kilos’ from stress

With their P4 finish, considering their package, Alpine have achieved the maximum they could. While it would have been nice if Esteban Ocon (or Fernando Alonso) were able to the ‘best of the rest’ moniker from Lando Norris, the team result is ultimately in their favour. In this race, as in the championship, Ocon had been chasing Lando Norris (during the final few laps) and finished just around a second behind.

The Frenchman thinks one more lap would have been enough for him to pass Norris and take P6 but he also added that ‘it doesn’t matter’: “It was a very close race the whole way, but that doesn’t matter. All the targets that we set ourselves are accomplished. We finished fourth in the constructors’ championship. Thank God for that! I lost two-and-a-half kilos this weekend in stress and being too focused.”

Next year, Ocon will partner Pierre Gasly, his fellow countryman and old friend. Ocon was pleased with the car and the team’s development over the year (and with his own highest-ever points tally) and hopes the team can close the gap to the top teams more in 2023. Alpine (as Renault) have a long history in the sport, especially as an engine manufacturer. They will surely be looking to reach the level of the teams on top.

Also Read: Fernando Alonso admits mistake but fails to give an apology to teammate Esteban Ocon after making contact at the Sao Paulo GP Sprint

Also Read: Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon went on to talk about his soon to be Ex-Teammate Fernando Alonso ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP

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