Fernando Alonso calls former teammate Esteban Ocon ‘immature’ after the Frenchman aborts his run at Sprint Shootout in Brazil

Esteban Ocon rammed into Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in the Sprint Shootout at Interlagos and had some interesting words to say about the Spaniard.

Fernando Alonso calls former teammate Esteban Ocon ‘immature’ after the Frenchman aborts his run at Sprint Shootout in Brazil

Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso (via imago)

The Sprint shootout at Interlagos saw another chapter being written into the Alonso vs Ocon battle as the former Alpine teammates were caught in another row following a collision. Esteban Ocon, who is still driving for Alpine appeared to have rammed into Fernando Alonso’s front wing as the Spaniard was preparing for his final hot lap of the shootout session.

Alonso was getting ready for his lap as a rapid Alpine, driven by Esteban Ocon crashed into the left side of his front wing and later collided with the barrier. Ocon’s Alpine was absolutely totaled after the collision into the barriers while Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was left with a broken suspension. Ocon, following the collision, took to the radio to call his former teammate ‘a f**king idiot’.

https://youtu.be/de6kXlNkWBg?si=mia2C4E6T2XNeYCK

Alonso has finally revealed his thoughts on the incident, The two-time World Champion had a smirky reply ready for the Frenchman. Alonso’s comments were reported by Soymotor.

FS Video
Yes, I heard what that boy said, He [Esteban Ocon] is still very immature and has not changed his way of seeing things, but well, there are other things that don't change either. He came out behind me like last year and stayed there, like last year. So everything is still normal.

Fernando Alonso claimed ‘lack of professionalism’ is what drove him away from Alpine

The two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, started a wave of transfers with his move from Alpine to Aston Martin at the end of the previous season. This move came just four days after Sebastian Vettel, who was driving for Aston Martin at the time, announced his retirement from the sport. The Spaniard’s move came as a surprise as many expected the driver to extend his time at Alpine. However, it was later revealed by the driver how a general ‘lack of professionalism’ drove him away from the French team.

Fernando Alonso (via Imago)
Fernando Alonso (via Imago)

In an interview with the Spanish radio programme El Larguero, Alonso spoke out. 

The first factor was Vettel's retirement. The second was that Alpine had been negotiating for several months, but nothing was ever finalized. We agreed on everything, but the paperwork didn’t come, and I noticed a lack of professionalism.

Reports at the time suggested that Alpine were concerned about Alonso’s age leading to contract delays. It was further revealed that Alpine had plans to promote Oscar Piastri to the F1 team rather than continue with Alonso.

Alonso’s move has proven successful as he consistently challenged teams like Mercedes and Ferrari during the opening rounds of the season. The driver has clinched seven podiums this season. In contrast, Alpine has been the most inconsistent team in the paddock, despite Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon each securing a singular podium for themselves.