Esteban Ocon reveals what left him 'pretty disappointed' about former Alpine F1 teammate Fernando Alonso

Alpine F1's Esteban Ocon has revealed some details about his relationship with former teammate and two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.

Everything seemed to be working for the duo until last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, where Ocon took home his first F1 victory owing to Alonso's defensive driving to hold off a late-charge by Lewis Hamilton. But since then, there has been a rift in their relationship, which nearly cost Alpine their P4 finish in the 2022 Constuctors' Championship.

In a recent interview with RacingNews365.com, Esteban Ocon discussed how he was left "pretty disappointed" with former teammate Alonso. He said:

"If I reflect on these last two years, it's been great. I have a lot of respect for Fernando and for what he's done in F1, he's one of the legends of the sport, but I was pretty disappointed with what he said in Brazil."

Alonso blasted Ocon after the race in Brazil for the collision that cost them a shot at points in the Sprint race. The team got lucky as both McLaren cars had to retire from the Grand Prix.

However, Ocon believes that it was a good effort from both drivers throughout the season. He said:

"I think we've worked well together and that's most important. For the team, we've done some really good races and have helped them to consolidate that fourth place."

The Frenchman is set to pair up with compatriot Pierre Gasly at Alpine this season following the latter's switch at the end of the 2022 campaign. The two drivers have notoriously quarreled in the past, but claim to have put all the bad blood behind them.

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Esteban Ocon claims to be 'physically stronger' than all other F1 drivers - except 1!

Esteban Ocon believes he is physically stronger than all the drivers on the grid besides Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas. The Frenchman is one of the tallest drivers on the grid, standing at 1.86 meters.

The 26-year-old claims that drivers need to be strong to properly handle F1 cars and that he is perhaps the strongest on the grid, barring the Finn, who is an Ironman athlete. Ocon also claims that his height and lanky posture hide his true physical strength.

Speaking to RacingNews365.com, Ocon said:

"You need to be confident in yourself, and I believe I can be stronger than most people physically, apart from maybe Valtteri [Bottas], who is an Ironman athlete! But I have all the strength, and I do put in a lot of effort. When I'm wearing a T-shirt, because I'm quite tall, you don't see that I'm quite fit."

Adding about his current level of fitness compared to 2021, he said:

"I'm heavier than I was last year, so I kept more muscle mass, and I feel better with energy than I was last year."

Esteban Ocon's height caused problems for his team, as they had to make a number of crucial modifications to the seating position of his car in order to prevent it from overheating in warmer climates.