Alpine will be looking forward to a fresh start in 2023 with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, after the relationship between their current driver pairing turned sour.
Fernando Alonso grew frustrated with Alpine towards the end of the 2023 season, admitting that he was counting down the days until he could complete his move to Aston Martin following an obscene number of mechanical failures this season.
The Spaniard came to blows with Ocon multiple times throughout the course of the season, hinting that the French driver was on the receiving end of favourable treatment from Alpine.
The season came to an end in Abu Dhabi with a race that perfectly summed up the season, with Alonso driving a positive race before being forced to retire because of an issue with his car.
READ: Aston Martin is ‘without a doubt’ the best option for Fernando Alonso
Ocon eventually managed to outscore Alonso by 11 points, with the Frenchman claiming that he was satisfied to have beaten such a veteran of the sport.
“It feels good to have beaten Alonso because he is a very fast driver,” said Ocon.
“I had to raise my own level as much as possible. It’s satisfying that I beat him over this year.”
The 26-year-old has one win in F1 to his name, which came last year in a race in Hungary that was full of twists, turns and varying conditions.
Despite not being able to repeat the feat in 2022, the French driver has claimed that this year was his best in the sport so far.
“I think this was my most complete year in F1,” said Ocon.
“The only thing I miss in the end is a podium finish.
“But there were some circumstances that caused us not to make it, so hopefully we will get it done again next year.”
READ: Breaking: Ferrari to sack Mattia Binotto with immediate effect
Alonso was forced to retire from a stunning six races in 2022, which heavily contributed to his low points total this year, with the Spaniard claiming that he was cost over 60 points this season as a result of Alpine’s reliability issues.
Even though Gasly and Ocon have had their issues in the past, the pair both claim that they expect a strong partnership during their time together at Alpine, with any problems being left in the past.
Both drivers have ambitions to challenge higher up the grid, which perfectly align with the team’s short and long term goals for the future.