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Alpine’s Esteban Ocon made headlines last year after his three-year contract with the team was announced. It was his second year with the team after partnering Daniel Ricciardo in 2020 after a year out of F1. 2021 was also his first year partnering the legendary Fernando Alonso and it would be safe to say that the Frenchman got overshadowed by his older teammate. What made matters worse for Ocon was that the much-older Spaniard had returned to the sport after two entire years of being outside F1.Since his return to the sport, the two-time world champion has had many noteworthy drives which have caught both the media's and the fans’ eyes. Many have backed him to be the better driver of the two despite his age, so much so that there was some outrage when the Frenchman's long contract until the end of the 2024 season was announced.
The tide has turned this year, however, and the 2022 Driver Standings bears witness to this. Fernando Alonso places 15th in the standings with 4 points to his name, while Esteban Ocon stands in 9th with 30 points.
Despite not receiving much media coverage, the 25-year-old has managed to score almost 90% of the team's points so far this season. It makes one wonder whether he will be Alpine's dark horse going forward.
Esteban Ocon vs Fernando Alonso: Who fares better?
Before we discuss this matter further, let's first analyze how Esteban Ocon fares in comparison to the two-time world champion, who is one of the toughest teammates to have on the grid. To do this, we need to look at both of their seasons race by race.
Bahrain
The Spaniard outqualified his younger teammate in the very first race of the season. However, as the race wore on, the Frenchman progressed through the field while Alonso struggled with tirewear. Ocon passed him three times in the race and, ultimately, finished in seventh place while Alonso finished the race in ninth place.
Verdict:
Better Driver: Ocon
Scorecard: Ocon 1-0 Alonso
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia featured Ocon outqualifying his experienced teammate, but in the race, Alonso turned the script on its head. After an eye-catching wheel-to-wheel battle, he gained clear supremacy over his teammate.
Alonso was destined to finish higher up the order, but ended up facing reliability issues that dropped him out of the race.
Verdict:
Better Driver: Alonso
Scorecard: Ocon 1-1 Alonso
Australia
In the Australian GP, the Frenchman was no match for his 40-year-old teammate in qualifying, but a hydraulic failure in the Q3 forced Alonso to start the race in P10. During the race, Ocon followed the conventional tire strategy, while the Spanish driver started the race on hard tires.
While the 25-year-old's conventional strategy helped him finish the race in the points, Alonso's alternate strategy saw his race implode, as he suffered when the safety car came out and fell down the order, to only finish P17. While Alonso might have had the raw pace, it was poor execution all around that led to his dismal race.
Verdict:
Better Driver: Ocon
Scorecard: Ocon 2-1 Alonso
Imola
Imola was a hard one to judge as Esteban Ocon encountered a gearbox issue in Q1 that, in essence, neutralized his race. Alonso, on the other hand, had started the race in a strong position but found himself out of the race after a minor clash with Mick Schumacher ended his race.
Verdict:
Better Driver: N/A
Scorecard: Ocon 2-1 Alonso
Miami
Miami saw Esteban Ocon miss the qualifying session altogether because the damage caused to his car in his FP3 crash was far too much. The race saw the French driver climb his way through the field and by the time he finished the race he was only a handful of seconds behind his teammate who had to serve two penalties.
While Ocon drove through the field to score points, his teammate found himself dropping down the timings' chart and outside of the points due to his penalties.
Verdict:
Better Driver: Ocon
Scorecard: Ocon 3-1 Alonso
Spain
Alonso's home race saw the Spaniard get outqualified by his teammate on Saturday. While Ocon started the race in P12, Alonso started at the back of the grid because of an engine change. Both the drivers put together a rather commendable performance as Esteban Ocon finished the race in P7 and Fernando Alonso in P9. However, over the weekend, Ocon was the better driver
Verdict:
Better Driver: Ocon
Scorecard: Ocon 4-1 Alonso
Over the first 6 races of the season, Ocon has been the better driver at Alpine. While statistics are not the be-all and end-all, if you have scored approximately 90% of your team's points so far this season, you are certainly doing something right.
Esteban Ocon's consistency has been a standout feature
What has stood out about the Alpine driver this season, that was missing from his career after the first two years of his return, is consistency. When the French driver joined the grid with Force India, one thing that stood out about his performances was his ability to repeat his performances, again and again, every weekend.
Despite being a rookie, he was extremely consistent and that held him in great stead as he kept his nose clean most of the time. This was something he even touched upon in a recent episode of Beyond the Grid. He said that even though he had won both the F3 and GP3 titles on his first attempt, he had not done that by winning a lot of races. Instead, he said he had won those titles by being consistent and this season, after two years of getting used to the sport again, Esteban Ocon appears to have found that consistency again.
His long-term contract with Alpine is starting to make sense
Alpine, to the surprise of many, gave Esteban Ocon a long-term contract extension last season (until 2024). At the time, the French driver was coming off a rather iffy season with Daniel Ricciardo as his teammate. The Australian got the better of him in 2020, and while Ocon did score a podium, he was a long way off his former teammate's pace.
In the first three or four races of the 2021 season, Ocon had the measure of Alonso, primarily because the Spaniard had been finding his feet in the new team after being out of the sport for two years. This should have instilled confidence in Alpine, for they offered Esteban Ocon a contract until the end of 2024.
All this to say that while Fernando Alonso might make headlines with his flashy performances, the Frenchman is the driver who, while being slightly forgotten by everyone, remains consistent. At the end of the first six races of the season, Esteban Ocon has scored 90% of the points for the team. If that's not Alpine's dark horse, then who is?
