Ocon sees benefit of departing Alonso: 'I had to do that on my own'

Esteban Ocon is not bitter about Fernando Alonso's departure. Speaking to French newspaper L'Equipe, Ocon even says that he may now be able to share tasks that, with Alonso as his teammate, he had to do all by himself.

Alonso was Ocon's teammate at Alpine in 2021 and 2022, but the Spaniard will leave for Aston Martin in 2023. There, he could sign a multi-year deal, where it was not possible at the French team. Ocon had a tough time against Alonso in the past two seasons but thinks in another way that his job will be easier in the coming years.

Speaking to L'Equipe Indeed, Ocon says that with Alonso as his teammate, he had to do most of the work off-track. ''I hope that changes because, honestly, it was 98% on my back and 2% on Alonso's back. I wasn't overworked, but I did all the development in the simulator and almost all the marketing trips.''

As a 41-year-old driver and two-time world champion, Alonso probably had some privileges included in his contract that meant he did not have to do all that work, but Ocon hopes that is different with Pierre Gasly as his teammate. According to Ocon, they can divide the tasks fairly though and that will leave more energy for Ocon himself to focus on racing.