Szafnauer warns: 'If necessary, I'm happy to remind him'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Whereas Alpine initially maintained a setting in which Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon were free to race against each other, the team backtracked on that when the duo collided and lost many points as a result. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer thinks Ocon will do well to approach a similar situation more wisely in the future.
Ocon does not shy away from wheel-to-wheel battles with his teammates has been shown more than once in the past. Not only with Alonso, but also with Sergio Perez, a fierce battle was occasionally seen and not always with a happy ending. Szafnauer has already discussed the situation with Ocon, but will remind the Frenchman of his words if he threatens to forget the conversation.
Szafnauer warns Ocon
"He needs to probably make better judgements when his teammates are next to him, because you don’t win it on the first lap, teammate or not," the Alpine team boss is quoted as saying by Marca.com. "If you’re aggressive against a competitor and you both go out, you both lose. If you’re aggressive against a teammate and you both go out, guess who loses?"
The 58-year-old American adds that in such a case, it is better to be patient and take your chance later. Should things do get too tense between Ocon and Gasly, the team boss does not hesitate to point this out to his driver once again. "If we need reminders, I’m happy to remind him," he said.
All eyes are on Alpine's new line-up, which will consist of Ocon and his long-time rival Pierre Gasly in 2023. The drivers themselves assure that they have long put their old feud behind them, but it will be interesting to see if the tension between the two will flare up again.