O'Conn spoke highly of his relationship with Alonso

Looking back on the 2021 season, Esteban O'Conn spoke highly of his relationship with Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso.

When the team changed its name from Renault to Alps, O'Conn stayed, while teammates changed from Daniel Ricciardo to Alonso. In his previous F1 career, Alonso sometimes made a name for not being the easiest person on the team to manage, but in their first season together, Aucon only found positives working with Alonso.

O'Conn said: "I have discovered a great man and friend and it is an honour to be on a par with Fernando Alonso. ”

While Alps haven't been the fastest car in midfield for most of the 2021 season, they are proud that they always get the best points from their car and finished P5 in the constructors' standings.

The highlight was of course O'Conn's victory in Hungary, where Alonso also played a huge role, significantly slowing Hamilton's catch-up and giving O'Conn plenty of room to meet the checkered flag.

Of course, there were also lows, with Mercedes' Walteri Bottas snatching the podium from him in front of the finish line at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

AuCom said: "It's been a season full of passion and delighted with our victory in Hungary and Fernando's podium in Qatar! We're frustrated with the podium that Saudi Arabia missed, and sometimes we're sadly thinking about how to get back to form, but we've overcome all those emotions and look back at the strongest moments of our 2021 season. ”

The 2022 season is a huge opportunity for Alps to break the existing order, and the new rules are about to take effect and are likely to change the situation. Aucom made it clear that 2021 was just the beginning of his journey with the Alps.

"Thanks to every member of the Alps who made me feel like home every time I got in the car, it was just the beginning of our story and let's build our future," Oken said. ”