Esteban Ocon has taken a parting shot at former Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso, saying the Spaniard barely did any work to push the team forward.
Alonso is joining Aston Martin next year and has already predicted his new team can beat Alpine in 2023.
The Spaniard grew increasingly critical of Alpine and his teammate over the final races of this year’s season.
At the penultimate event, the Brazilian Grand Prix, he and Ocon collided during the sprint race and blamed each other.
When asked if he needed to smooth things over with Ocon, Alonso said: “No, not really. I don’t need. It’s one more race then it’s over, finally!”
Ocon was frustrated at how Alonso handled the situation and hinted that it will be better for the team that he is driving elsewhere next year.
Speaking to French press ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ocon said: “Of course, I was disappointed by that his comments were made in the press and not internally. We didn’t have any discussions about any of that. I will keep the respect I have for him.
“It’s good that he’s going to Aston Martin and that we’re going our own way. Honestly, the work was 98 percent on my back and 2 percent on his. I was overworked. I did all the development on the simulator, the marketing trips.”
Accusations of Alonso being a bad influence behind the scenes have followed him around throughout his F1 career.
Ocon is being joined by fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly next year.
There are questions about how well that partnership will go, as Ocon and Gasly have had an up and down relationship ever since they were kart racing together as kids.