“My heart is in the racing” - Fernando Alonso looks beyond clash with Esteban Ocon in Brazil

Fernando Alonso is looking forward to his final race with Alpine in Abu Dhabi. The Spaniard was involved in an unfortunate clash with Esteban Ocon during the sprint race in Brazil.

That resulted in both his and Ocon's race getting compromised severely, as both finished outside the points. Both Alonso and his teammate were able to turn things around on Sunday, scoring points for Alpine.

After the race, Alonso said that he's fully focused on the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi this weekend. He said:

"I made a mistake when Esteban and I made contact, so we wanted to do our best and race hard for the team. We needed these points heading to Abu Dhabi (in the fight for fourth in the Constructors). There is one more race with the team to go, and my heart is in the racing."

He continued:

"The car was very competitive, and our strategy was out of sync with most of the cars. At the end, I had newer tyres, and we pushed as close to the front as we could. I overtook Sergio (Perez) and then tried to look at Charles (Leclerc), but they were a step too fast for overtaking."

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Fernando Alonso's teammate reflects on strong weekend for Alpine

Fernando Alonso's teammate Esteban Ocon also had a strong race as he made his through the field and scored points for Alpine.

The double-point finish puts Alpine in a very strong position in their fight for P4 against McLaren with only one race left. Looking back at the race, Ocon said:

"It's a great result for the team today, and I'm very happy with our race. We maximised the different strategies on both cars and scored 14 points heading into the last race of the season. It was a good recovery drive from Fernando and me after starting from where we did, so credit to the team for the execution."

He added:

"We knew we had to be at our best after yesterday's disappointment, and that's exactly what we did in the race. The season is not over, and we still have one more race to go. It's going to be full push until the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi."

The two Alpine drivers are only separated by five points in the championship, with Ocon (86) leading Alonso (81). That has been a key reason behind Alpine's competitiveness against McLaren. Alpine (167) lead McLaren (148) by almost 20 points ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP this weekend.