"Tell Esteban to defend like a lion!": When Fernando Alonso laid out an impassioned instruction to his Alpine teammate

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso previously instructed his ex-Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon to defend like a lion during that 2021 Qatar Grand Prix. The Spanish driver had made a comeback into the sport at the start of the 2021 season after sitting out the previous two years and racing in other categories like IndyCar and LeMans 24 hours.

The 44-year-old got the opportunity to race for the Enstone-based team, who had previously delivered him to world championships in 2005 and 2006, after Daniel Ricciardo decided to make a jump to McLaren after just two years with the French team.

While many were apprehensive about Alonso's age as he attempted to make a comeback at the pinnacle of motorsport, he proved everyone wrong with his performances throughout the 2021 season.

The high point of the year came during the Qatar Grand Prix when he found himself in P3, a podium position with a fast-charging Sergio Perez on faster tires. With 12 laps to go, Fernando Alonso came on to his team radio and gave a strict instruction to his then teammate Esteban Ocon and said:

"Tell Esteban to defend like a lion,"

Although the French driver was not able to keep the Mexican driver behind heated enough for a couple of laps to delay his progress, which ultimately resulted in him failing to catch Alonso in the final laps of the race.

Esteban Ocon's defense was also payback for his own triumph during the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier in the year, when it was Fernando Alonso who defended against Lewis Hamilton for multiple laps, which later enabled Ocon to win the race.

When Esteban Ocon spoke about defending for Fernando Alonso's podium

Former Alpine driver Esteban Ocon previously claimed that it was tough for him to defend against then-Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix to help his teammate Fernando Alonso's podium chances.

Speaking with The Race in Qatar 2021, the 28-year-old reflected on his drive and said:

“I came on the radio saying how far in front is Fernando, and the team said, ‘All you need is to basically defend now. I said, ‘yeah, that’s why I was asking, I am aware of the situation’ – so I wanted to do my best to try and slow down Checo as much as possible for him not to be able to attack Fernando towards the end.

“It was not as easy to defend as Budapest because the straights are longer and he [Perez] was on fresher tires, so it was a different set of circumstances. But I’m glad that I played my part and I gave a little bit a bit back of what Fernando gave me in Budapest.”

Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were teammates at the French team for two years before the latter left to join Aston Martin at the start of the 2023 season.