Fernando Alonso, Ocon's first F1 win is "a fluke once in 100 years"[F1-Gate.com]

Fernando Alonso has given a surprise assessment of former teammate Esteban Ocon’s unexpected 2021 F1 win.

Last year’s Hungarian F1 GP was a chaotic race. Valtteri Bottas wreaked havoc when he locked his front tires on the wet track, colliding with both Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, causing red flags.

When the race resumed, the track was quite dry. Pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton was the only driver on the grid, while the rest of the field pitted to switch to slicks along with the safety car.

This made Esteban Ocon the de facto leader, a position he held right up to the checkered flag.

Neither Esteban Ocon nor Fernando Alonso managed to finish on the podium in 22 races, although this year’s Alpine looks like a more competitive car than its predecessor.

“We didn’t win on merit,” said Fernando Alonso when asked why the results weren’t comparable to 2021 despite the improvement.

“What happened in Hungary last year was a major accident that could only happen once in 100 years.”

“And the podium afterwards. We had our chances in Canada and Australia, but we lost them because of us.”

The Alpine F1 Team regained at least some prestige from the season by finishing fourth in the Constructors’ Championship after a season-long duel with McLaren.

Alonso, who will join Aston Martin over the winter, said the Alpine F1 team was “in some ways similar to last year”.

“But when you’re not fighting for the championship, being fourth or fifth doesn’t make much difference.”