Esteban Ocon has spoken out following his intense battle with Fernando Alonso at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Alpine driver was defending P7 from the charging Alonso on lap 51 of the Spanish Grand Prix, moving aggressively to the right to cover off the inside move into turn one.
Alonso committed to the move and eventually took the position, but not without a scary near-miss as Ocon jolted his Alpine car to the right.
The two drivers have clashed on track on numerous occasions before, most notably during the 2022 season as their team-mate relationship at Alpine rapidly deteriorated.
No concerns for Ocon
“It’s definitely great," Ocon said when asked by Sky Sports F1 about Alpine's performance at the Spanish Grand Prix.
"A couple of tenths can make you jump one or two teams. So that’s good."
Ocon then explained his view on the battle with Alonso towards the end of the grand prix.
Alonso's run of top four finishes came to an end on home soil in Spain
"A good fight Fernando as usual.
"But, yeah, he was too fast today, it was impossible for me to keep him behind.
"I tried for two laps, and then I had to let him go.