"Give the fans, a bit of a show" - Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon allowed to race each other on track, says Alpine

Fernando Alonso and teammate Esteban Ocon will be allowed to race each other, provided they are not losing time to other cars around them, according to Otmar Szafnauer.

Szafnauer moved from Aston Martin to become team principal at Alpine. He was seen with his head in his hands during the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP when Alonso and Ocon engaged in some intense wheel-to-wheel racing.

This allowed Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas to catch and subsequently pass Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman did eventually did get his place back but only after Bottas was forced to pit. Ocon finished in P6 while Fernando Alonso had to retire after losing power close to the pit lane entry.

After the race, Szafnauer touched on the duel between the two teammates at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, saying:

“It’s a high-speed track here, the walls are close. But look, they did exactly what we talked about before the race. And it was good for everybody. As it turned out had Fernando [Alonso] not stopped on track, we would have been sixth and seventh. And we would have given the fans, and we did give the fans, a bit of a show. And I think that’s what it’s about. You’ve got to let them race. It was clean, it’s what the fans want to see. And we told them at the beginning we’ll allow them to race. I mean, the only reason I did this [head in hands] was we were losing a little bit more time than I anticipated.”

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"Pretty much like a go-kart race" - Esteban Ocon on Jeddah battle with teammate Fernando Alonso

Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon likened his duel with Fernando Alonso in the new generation of F1 cars to a go-kart race.

Speaking to motorsport.com after his P6 finish in Saudi Arabia, the Frenchman said:

“It was a lot of fun. Good racing with Lando [Norris], good racing with Fernando [Alonso], with Valtteri [Bottas]. It’s a completely different philosophy now racing with these cars, it’s pretty much like a go-kart race. And fighting with Fernando very closely, we were very close in all sessions this weekend, in qualifying, there was less than a tenth separating us. So, it’s going to be close all year. But that’s pushing the team performance up.”

Alpine are currently in P4 in the World Constructors Championship standings with 16 points to their name. Alonso will be hoping for a better showing in Melbourne after his disappointing DNF in Saudi Arabia.