“Free Practice is your time” Fernando Alonso mocks Esteban Ocon and Alpine for trying to race Aston Martin on Friday
Aston Martin racer Fernando Alonso mocked his former team Alpine claiming that the French team is nowhere near AMR in pace.
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It has only been a few months since Fernando Alonso made the shift to Aston Martin leaving Alpine at the end of last season, and the Spaniard has already run into some trouble with the French squad. While Nando is happy with his decision to move to Lawrence Stroll’s team as he has already attained three podium places in the first four races of 2023, Alpine are struggling with their pace. The French team is currently in the 6th spot on the F1 standings, with only 8 points to their name.
Going into the Miami Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has said that he will aim for yet another top 3 finish this weekend. But on Friday, during the Practice Sessions, the Spaniard got somewhat irritated and the reason was none other than his former teammate at Alpine–Esteban Ocon. Apparently, the Frenchman tried to contest with him during the 60-minute practice session, and this irked Fernando as he ranted about Ocon on the team radio.
It all started during the FP2 in Miami as Fernando Alonso was attempting for his fastest lap of the day. But Esteban Ocon hindered Alonso, and taking to the team radio, the Asturian said, “Alpine is competing with us in free practice.” To this, Nando’s team engineer said, “Yes, be careful now. You were on a fast lap.” Then Fernando mocked his former team, saying, “Yes, understood. Free practice is your time.“
Related: Aston Martin urges F1 to ‘keep its DNA’ amidst radical Baku race weekend changes
Fernando Alonso indicated Alpine can be nowhere near Aston Martin during Main Race in Miami
Not many days ago, Alpine’s Chief Otmar Szafnauer commented that the team should be fighting in the same ranks as Mercedes with their new upgrades. Unfortunately for him, the Azerbaijan GP saw the team fail horribly as Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly could only manage P14 and P15 finishes respectively. In the meantime, Fernando Alonso, who was Alpine’s former hire, drew up in the fourth position in Baku, narrowly missing his fourth podium finish of the season.
Thus, Fernando Alonso has enough confidence in his Aston Martin racecar right now. Knowing Alpine’s position, he believes the French team should not race with him during the Free Practice as the real pace of the cars get tested during the Main Race only. Hence, Fernando Alonso mocked Alpine saying that they could only catch up to him during the FP rounds, as he will be beyond their reach once the lights go out and they start racing on Sunday.
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Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)