Esteban Ocon insists there has been "no drama" involved amid his close battle with Fernando Alonso at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix. After starting the race from sixth on the grid, Ocon eventually finished the event down in P8 on what was a less strong day for Alpine after their strong performance in Saturday's qualifying. En route to his result, Ocon engaged in a close battle with former teammate Alonso, with the Frenchman putting in a defensive move against the Aston Martin driver on the start/finish straight. Alonso ultimately took P7 from the Alpine man, but Ocon still had fun in the fight.
Ocon on Alonso battle
"I enjoyed racing with him," Ocon told media, including RacingNews365.com . "Once I saw he was on the right side, I backed off because I knew I couldn't keep him behind. I managed for two laps but after I had to let him go. "It's been pretty normal, all good. There was no drama at all, it was good racing. "I've enjoyed and I will enjoy many more battles with Fernando."
'Mixed feelings' for Ocon in Spain
After claiming a podium finish one week earlier in Monaco, Ocon was left with mixed feelings over Alpine's performance in Spain. "I think [it was] good to score points, definitely,' he explained. "But obviously, coming from a podium, coming from such a good pace on Saturday in qualifying... It's not disappointing, but there's a little bit of a mixed feelings about this race. "The pace was was a lot better [on Saturday than on Sunday], we've struggled a little bit more with the car and being able to lean on the tyres. I think the degradation was quite high, and it was tricky to get the tyres under control. "We are fifth [in the Constructors' Championship]. We dropped to eighth [in the race], so that's definitely going to be a focus point for the future to find out about that race pace. "But in general, it's been two great weeks for us. 19 points on my side, a lot more for the team, and I'm sure we can keep going [and make a] step forward like we've done [in recent weeks]."
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