Esteban Ocon does not think Alpine newcomer Pierre Gasly will need 'much help'

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon believes his 2023 teammate Pierre Gasly will not require too much help in getting used to his new car given his elaborate experience with former teams.

Fernando Alonso left the Enstone-based team at the end of the 2022 season to join Aston Martin, causing the French team to go with an all-French lineup this year.

With Pierre Gasly set to join his fellow compatriot in the former Renault side, Ocon claims he has no doubts about Gasly's ability to quickly get to grips with driving their 2023 challenger.

The Frenchman cites the former AlphaTauri driver's vast experience with switching teams and extensive testing as his main reasons for believing that Gasly will face no issues at Alpine.

The two drivers have notoriously quarreled in the past but claim to have put all the bad blood past them. Esteban Ocon told Motorsport.com:

“I don’t think he’s going to need much help. I think Pierre is very experienced. He’s driven for different teams, he’s driven a lot in testing also prior to that. It’s always a learning curve of understanding the car, how you work."

"The team and I, we have the keys, and again, the important thing is for us to debate, do the same thing we were doing with Fernando. Straightaway we need to be on pace to be able to score, and to give good feedback to the team, to really improve it.”

Esteban Ocon claims to be 'physically stronger' than all other F1 drivers except Valtteri Bottas

Alpine driver Esteban Ocon claims to be physically stronger than all drivers on the grid besides Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas. The Frenchman is one of the tallest drivers on the grid, standing tall at a height of 1.86 meters.

Despite his height, Ocon is petitely built and is perhaps not one of the heavier drivers on the grid. The Frenchman feels that drivers need to be strong to properly handle F1 cars. He also claimed that he is the strongest driver on the grid, barring Valtteri Bottas, who is an Ironman athlete.

Esteban Ocon believes that his height and lanky posture hide his true physical strength. Speaking to RacingNews365.com, Esteban 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."

Ocon added about his level of fitness this year compared to 2021:

"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."

It will be interesting to see who will come out on top between the two Frenchmen in 2023.