‘I loved him’… Eddie Jordan admits he’s a huge fan of ‘very talented’ 27-year-old Formula 1 driver

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Eddie Jordan has admitted that he loved working with Alpine driver Esteban Ocon while the pair were together at Force India.

Esteban Ocon is now driving alongside fellow Frenchman Pierre Gasly at the rebranded Renault team who had a disappointing campaign in 2023.

Speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast, Jordan and David Coulthard were discussing the fortunes of Alpine.

Jordan has already admitted that he’s a big fan of Ocon’s teammate Gasly and thinks he’s a ‘real talent’.

It’s difficult to find too many negatives when it comes to Alpine’s driver line-up but that’s where the positives end right now.

Their relationship isn’t the best, but they’re very quick and have both secured unlikely Grand Prix wins during their careers.

Esteban Ocon broke onto the grid in 2016, replacing Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto at Manor Racing midway through the season.

Ocon was part of the Mercedes driver academy but ended up making the switch to Force India in 2017 where he encountered Jordan before eventually ending up at Alpine.

The former team boss has described what the Frenchman was like during his early years in F1.

At the time, he wasn’t sure there was a faster driver at his age out there, and while he’s very been in a racing-winning car, he doesn’t appear to have the consistency of some of his rivals.

Jordan raves about Alpine driver Ocon

Speaking about the 27-year-old, Jordan said: “Esteban Ocon, who was unlucky in a way when he was at Force India. I loved him there because I was super involved in the team at that stage.

“Andy Stevenson and myself, we used to sit back and think about who could be better than Ocon, he was a very talented, very, very quiet young man.

“But, the whole team is too much into itself. They don’t open the doors out, they don’t put their arms out, they embrace other people and other sponsors and other guests.”

Jordan clearly wants Alpine to deliver a better car for Ocon and Gasly, but that doesn’t appear to be on the cards.

Sky Sports’s David Croft has shared some worrying news that he’s heard about their car’s performance in the simulator ahead of the 2024 season.

Ocon admitted McLaren and Aston Martin did a much better job than his outfit in 2023.

That needs to change over the winter otherwise they’ll be left behind and end up in a fight with the likes of Williams and AlphaTauri.