Esteban Ocon is being tipped to push Fernando Alonso hard at Alpine, at least in the early races of the 2021 Formula 1 season.
After going up against Daniel Ricciardo last year, the Frenchman faces arguably a bigger challenge alongside the double world champion, even though Alonso has not competed in F1 since 2018.
Of course, that perception comes as many still consider Fernando among the best racing drivers in the world even at the age of 39.
But former F1 driver Sergey Sirotkin does believe Ocon’s year of experience with Alpine, the new name for Renault, will give him an early chance to make his mark next to Fernando.
“Esteban will understand the team and the car better. I don’t expect him to be completely in Alonso’s shadow,” he told Russia’s Championnat.
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“I think it will be very difficult for Fernando to immediately be at the level at which Daniel left his car, and Fernando surely will have a lot of requirements for the team, but the team will have high requirements for Fernando – to start the season as strong as possible.
“I think at least the initial stage of the fight between Alonso and Ocon will be very tight,” Sirotkin predicted. “Besides, Esteban was very helped by getting the podium in Bahrain, it was obvious he had a load off his shoulders.”
Indeed, second at the Sakhir Grand Prix was the highlight of a solid comeback year for Ocon, even if he struggled to score much success against Ricciardo.
But the 24-year-old is confident he can use last year as a launchpad to be stronger in 2021.
“We’ve seen that it’s not easy to switch teams, even for people that have been racing. And on top of that, I had a year off, so I had to get back up to speed, and also learn to work with a new team,” he reflected.
“So I’m definitely aiming to do a bit like what Daniel did for his second year – which is step up and continue the progress that we have been doing this year [in 2020]. That is definitely the aim.”
As for the prospect of partnering Alonso, Ocon is under no illusions of the potential challenge that awaits.
“He has been practicing, coming to a very strong level straight away,” he said. “He will be a very strong opponent so I’m definitely going to fight hard.
“I know what I have to face and I know I’ll be starting stronger than last year. I am definitely ready for the challenge but he will also be ready straight away, I know that.
“Fernando is someone I really respect as a driver, I have so much respect for what he has done,” he added to Sky Sports.
“When I was watching Michael [Schumacher] and him fighting he was the person giving me the motivation to be where I am today.”