Esteban Ocon sees 'Fernando Alonso effect' in Aston Martin's 2023 F1 challenger appearing 'fast'

Esteban Ocon is not entirely sure if the hype around Aston Martin is the 'Fernando Alonso effect' or something far more genuine.

There has been a lot of buzz around Aston Martin this season as off-season rumors do indicate that the team could be a strong contender in the midfield.

Fernando Alonso too had a lot of good things to say about Aston Martin as he revealed that the team was looking to take a step forward this season.

Alonso's former teammate Esteban Ocon, however, is not entirely sure what the source of this hype is for Aston Martin. The Alpine driver conceded that the car looked fast but it was hard to predict where everyone would be at this stage. Ocon told the media, including PlanetF1.com:

“Everybody’s been talking about it. I don’t know if it’s the Fernando effect, or that it’s going to be fast. But it looks like a very quick car from whenever you look at the aero side of things and from the outside, so it’s looking like a strong contender."

"But everyone’s going to work hard to close that gap as well. We’re not the only ones. We can’t underestimate the Aston Martin, McLaren, AlphaTauri, Sauber, all these guys because they’re also thinking the same things that we are doing now.”

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Otmar Szafnauer rebukes Fernando Alonso's jibes against Alpine

Fernando Alonso took a shot at his former teams (both McLaren and Alpine apparently) as he called out the team's lack of ambition where a P4 finish in the championship was celebrated. He said:

“They finished fourth and they were happy with fourth. They finished fifth and they were happy with fifth. If we were seventh, it was a celebration. Here there are no celebrations until we win and this is very appealing.”

Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer, replying to the media asking for his take on Fernando Alonso's comments, said that the Spaniard was as happy as everyone else when the team secured P5 last season. He said:

“I think when we did finish fourth, if you look back, he was as happy as everybody else who was part of the team.”

It's an interesting back-and-forth between Fernando Alonso and his former team. At the end of the day, it will all come down to how good or bad both Aston Martin and Alpine are. The competition between the two teams could prove to be very interesting to watch as the 2023 F1 season progresses.