Tag: Esteban Ocon

Gasly wants to clear the air before Alpine duo line up together

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine should hold talks with its two drivers ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix as he will start alongside teammate Esteban Ocon in Barcelona. Ocon was penalized for making contact with Gasly on the opening lap of the race in …

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine should hold talks with its two drivers ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix as he will start alongside teammate Esteban Ocon in Barcelona.

Ocon was penalized for making contact with Gasly on the opening lap of the race in Monaco two rounds ago, with Alpine and Gasly stating the attempted overtake went against team instructions. The pair will start from seventh and eighth in Spain as Ocon gains a spot due to Sergio Perez’s grid penalty, and Gasly wants talks to take place before the race.

“I think we should [discuss it], based on the recent events,” Gasly said. “As a team, it would be normal, but as a professional I know what I’ve got to do and always kept it very clean — and I always keep it very clean.”

However, Ocon believes talks are not needed and says it’s not unusual for the Alpine drivers to be close to each other on the grid.

“How many times have we started together?” Ocon said. “It has happened once every 30 times. I don’t expect anything tomorrow; it should be fine.”

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Away from the focus on the driver dynamic, the result marks a surprisingly competitive qualifying session for Alpine with both drivers in the top eight, and Gasly says the team needs to understand why it has been so strong in Spain.

“I think no one really saw that coming,” Gasly said. “I always told them it’s nicer when we have to explain why you overperform rather than underperform, but it’s as important for us to find these answers because coming here we definitely didn’t expect to have a Q3 car. Since yesterday, there was some performance and even today it was a very clean session.

“Looking at the gaps, we’re only a tenth and a half from Lewis [Hamilton], and even Carlos [Sainz] — Ferrari managed to win a race not a long time ago — so I must say it’s very strange, but we take it. It was a good quali and I think a very big, good boost of motivation for the team.”

Alpine and Ocon rift grows after Montreal team order

The relationship between Alpine and Esteban Ocon took another hit after both sides criticized each other over a team order late in the Canadian Grand Prix. Ocon was running in eighth place with four laps to go but was suffering what the team says …

The relationship between Alpine and Esteban Ocon took another hit after both sides criticized each other over a team order late in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Ocon was running in eighth place with four laps to go but was suffering what the team says was “an energy management problem”, costing him performance and seeing him lose a place to Daniel Ricciardo. Teammate Pierre Gasly was directly behind, and Alpine says it instructed Ocon to let Gasly through at the start of Lap 68 to try and challenge Ricciardo ahead.

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Ocon allowed Gasly through more than a lap later, a decision the team described as too late because by that time Ricciardo had been able to pull two seconds clear, and Gasly could only close that gap by 0.7s on the one full lap of racing left.

With Ocon crossing the line half a second ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine stated it was too risky to ask the drivers to swap positions back at the end of the race, but Ocon insisted he had played the team game and not been fairly treated in return.

“No, it is unexplainable,” Ocon said. “I’ve always respected the instructions that I’ve been given as a driver, and I’ve done that once more. I’m the nice guy!

“I’ve done my part of the job – the team hasn’t, honestly. It is not fair on that race. So I’m very frustrated with how things have been played out. I guess there are a lot of reasons, so we’ll let the benefit of the doubt go on.”

Ocon says he doesn’t understand the initial call from Alpine to let Gasly through, having initially replied “Forget it!” when instructed to do so over team radio.

“No, because we were two and a half seconds behind Daniel,” he said. “In one lap, not even a Red Bull can catch up the gap. So, no, it makes no sense. So either we don’t know what we are doing or we don’t realize how far it is, or it’s something else. It wasn’t the right decision.”

Speaking to Sky Sports, Ocon also stated he has always followed team orders, despite the fallout from Monaco when Alpine claimed Ocon ignored team instructions when trying to overtake Gasly and retiring after making contact with his teammate on the opening lap.

“I am happy for the team to be able to score with both cars, but the order should be reversed on that occasion,” he said. “I got the instructions to let Pierre past with two laps to go to catch Daniel who was two and a half seconds in front and too fast for us. So the call was nonsense.

“I’ve done my part of the job, which is being a team player. I’ve always respected the instructions I’ve been given. It’s always been the case and I’ve never done anything different in my career. I’ve done my part of the job and not the team, and it is very sad.”

Ocon says Alpine exit built over ‘several months’

Esteban Ocon says his target is to remain in Formula 1 but there are no certainties, as he explains how his departure from Alpine was discussed over a number of months. The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of this season after five years with …

Esteban Ocon says his target is to remain in Formula 1 but there are no certainties, as he explains how his departure from Alpine was discussed over a number of months.

The Frenchman will leave Alpine at the end of this season after five years with the team, with the announcement of the split coming following a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco. Ocon says that incident was not the catalyst for his departure as discussions have gone on for a long time, but hinted there are no guarantees he has another seat confirmed already for 2025.

“We’ve been talking with the team for several months,” Ocon said. “Alpine is a big group, Renault is a big group, and it’s the kind of team that is not taking decisions on just a single race. We’ve been talking, we’ve agreed mutually to come to an end, basically, at the end of the contract.

“I’ve spent five years inside this team. We had some amazing moments, more tough ones, but five years in terms of Formula 1 world is a long time. I’m excited for the challenge ahead and excited to finish the collaboration on a high, that I’ve been part of for a long time.

“I have nothing to announce yet. I will announce my future in due course, when the right time comes. At the moment, I’m just focused on what’s going to be happening this weekend, and what’s going to be in the next coming races. I think it’s good to be doing some racing, which is the most important thing and what I’m excited about.

“I mean, you never know in Formula 1, what the future can [hold]. But as I said, I’m excited for future challenges. I’ve got 16 more races to do and it’s important to do a good job and coming to the races stay motivated as I’ve always been, and enjoy what I do. For sure my target is to be in Formula 1, that is very clear.”

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Ocon insists his impending departure and the fallout from the collision in Monaco will not have a negative impact on the rest of this season with Alpine.

“It doesn’t, because we’ve come to speak all together with the team. I talked with Bruno [Famin, team principal], I was at the factory for normal preparation before the weekend, but also had a chat with Bruno.

“We were just talking about a lot of things –there was no awkward moment, there is no damage between our relationships altogether. Everything has been discussed and we move on.

“What I want to do is try to do the best I can for the rest of the season, finish on a high with the team, with the story that we started. I think that’s very important for me. I’ve joined the team in 2020 and I’ve always [been] trying to do the best that I could and for the team, so that will remain.”

Alpine and Ocon agree to part ways at the end of season

Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of this season, with both sides saying they “have agreed together to part ways” at the conclusion of his current contract. Alpine has endured a tough start to 2024, scoring just two points in total and …

Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of this season, with both sides saying they “have agreed together to part ways” at the conclusion of his current contract.

Alpine has endured a tough start to 2024, scoring just two points in total and currently sitting ninth in the constructors’ championship. Ocon scored the first of those points in Miami, but came under fire from team principal Bruno Famin after causing a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly on the opening lap in Monaco.

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While Ocon is still set to race for the team for the remainder of the year, it has now been confirmed that he will leave at the end of the season, with Audi and Haas two potential destinations for the 27-year-old.

“It’s been a significant period of my life to be racing at this team in Formula 1,” Ocon said. “While I’ve been here for five years as a full-time racing driver, my professional career started at Enstone back when I was a teenager, so it will always be a special place for me.

“We have had some great moments together, some tough moments as well, and I am certainly grateful to everyone at the team for these memorable times. I will announce my plans very soon but, in the meantime, my full focus is on delivering on track for this team and having a successful remainder of the season.”

Ocon has finished on the podium twice for Alpine on top of a surprise victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, and Famin says the target will be to ensure more strong results over the remainder of the year.

“We would like to firstly thank Esteban for his commitment to the team for the past five years,” Famin said. “During his time, we have celebrated some fantastic moments together, the best of which coming at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with a memorable race win.

“We still have 16 races to complete in 2024 together with a clear objective: to continue to work tirelessly as a team to push for the best on-track results. We wish Esteban the very best for the next chapter of his driving career when that moment comes.”

With neither side confirming their 2025 plans, Alpine remains an outside option for Carlos Sainz once he leaves Ferrari, but could also look to promote reserve driver Jack Doohan who has impressed in private tests.

Gasly wants Alpine discussions after Ocon defies ‘clear instructions’

Pierre Gasly says he was shocked by Esteban Ocon’s attempted move on him at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix and suggests it went against pre-race instructions given to them by Alpine. Ocon attempted to pass Gasly down the inside of Portier on the …

Pierre Gasly says he was shocked by Esteban Ocon’s attempted move on him at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix and suggests it went against pre-race instructions given to them by Alpine.

Ocon attempted to pass Gasly down the inside of Portier on the opening lap but the angle into the corner meant he was unable to leave a car’s width on the exit and his left rear hit Gasly’s right front, launching Ocon into the air. While it was Ocon who retired, the stewards handed him what was converted into a five-place grid penalty at his next race for what they described as an “overly ambitious overtaking attempt”, and Gasly wants discussions with his teammate as a result.

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“I was quite shocked and it was very unnecessary. We should never have such a situation, especially between teammates,” Gasly said. “I’m just sad, disappointed with the situation, and especially as we had clear instructions before the race on what to do and whoever qualified ahead, the trailing car was supposed to help throughout the race with the strategy, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.

“We definitely need to speak because we can’t afford [collisions], especially in a season like this, a point or two that might be crucial at the end of the year. We’ve just got to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Elaborating on the pre-race discussions, Gasly claims Ocon was supposed to be helping ensure the lead Alpine could maximize its result, but says it’s not the first time the pair have been involved in incidents together.

“Honestly it was set in the strategy that whoever qualifies ahead will get the priority on the strategy and the guy behind will play a bit more of a support role. Obviously absolutely no risk on a track like that and really try to benefit from having the two cars in such a position.

“We know what’s happened and I think what’s most important for me is just to make sure that it doesn’t happen in the future. We came close already a couple of times, too many times, we discussed about it and we just need to be clear.”

Gasly went on to finish 10th after being able to take the restart following a red flag in his original position, but he says when the collision occurred Ocon risked both of them being able to score.

“At that time we were P9 and P10, so there’s absolutely no reason to try or risk to get both cars out,” Gasly said. “You can’t really rewrite the story, so you’ll never know if things could have been differently, but for sure we were in a strong position as a team, especially with the two cars ahead of us, and I feel genuinely that I had the pace to try something and we could be quite smart.

“We had a different scenario planned in terms of strategy. Unfortunately we couldn’t work it that way, but we’ll never know. At the end of the day I think we did the best we could because after the incident I got a puncture on my hard tire, restarted with the medium tires, and had to do 75 or 76 laps on medium, which wasn’t planned.

“It was just a very strange race with a very slow pace at the start, but to keep in mind the long game and making sure that the two Aston Martins behind me – with [Fernando] Alonso opening a free pit stop for [Lance] Stroll – so I had to keep some tires alive for the second part of the race in case Stroll would catch me back.

“There was quite a lot going on. I’m just happy for the team, we managed to get to the end and grab that point.”

Ocon hit with grid penalty for next race after Gasly clash

Esteban Ocon has been given a five-place grid penalty for his next race for causing a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix. Ocon attempted to overtake Gasly down the inside of Portier on the opening lap, but the …

Esteban Ocon has been given a five-place grid penalty for his next race for causing a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Ocon attempted to overtake Gasly down the inside of Portier on the opening lap, but the pair collided on the exit before entering the tunnel. With Gasly unable to go any wider due to the presence of the barrier, Ocon’s left rear wheel hit his team-mate’s front left, launching Ocon into the air and damaging his car to the extent that he had to retire despite a red flag period.

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The stewards deemed Ocon to be wholly at fault for the incident, and handed him a 10-second time penalty that is converted into a grid drop of five positions at his next race.

“It was clear to us that the collision was caused solely by the overly ambitious overtaking attempt, from too far back, by Car 31 and was therefore wholly to blame for the incident,” the stewards’ decision read.

Team principal Bruno Famin also squarely blamed Ocon for the move on French television, with his driver accepting it was his error on social media having reviewed the collision.

“Today’s incident was my fault,” Ocon said. “The gap was too small in the end and I apologize to the team on this one. Hoping for a deserved points-finish for the team today.”

Ocon had earlier suggested it was one of his only chances to make progress into the points given the difficulty overtaking in Monaco.

“You know, you have to take care, but in the same time, we are doing 120% to be trying to get inside the top 10, for me, for Pierre,” He said. “We saw it yesterday, we pushed to the limit a lot in qualifying. Mistakes happen. That’s it.

“As we usually do … We review everything for sure, we try and do better for the next one.”

The stewards opted against investigating a bigger first-lap crash between Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez that brought out the red flag, with Nico Hulkenberg also eliminated.

Ocon eyes competing at Le Mans with Alpine in the future

Esteban Ocon has hinted that he’d like to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day, following the unveiling of the new Alpine A424 hypercar alongside its new Formula 1 car earlier this week. The brand will compete in both Formula 1 and the …

Esteban Ocon has hinted that he’d like to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans one day, following the unveiling of the new Alpine A424 hypercar alongside its new Formula 1 car earlier this week.

The brand will compete in both Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship this year, being the only other brand besides Ferrari to have a full presence on both grids.

When asked whether he’d be interested in sampling Alpine’s other top-level offering, Ocon said the car looked “mega” and opened the door to participating at Le Mans should the opportunity arise in future, and hinted that he might not be the only one.

“The focus is always 2000 percent on Formula 1, but I think as soon as one F1 driver will do Le Mans while the F1 season is going, many more drivers will do so, and I’m waiting for that moment to see what happens,” he said.

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The last full time F1 driver to compete at Le Mans was Nico Hulkenberg in 2015. While competing for Force India, Hulkenberg raced at the Six Hours of Spa and Le Mans for Porsche alongside Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber, winning the latter.

While no current F1 drivers will participate at Le Mans this year, there will be plenty of recent F1 talent on the grid, including 2023 Le Mans winner Antonio Giovinazzi (Ferrari), Nyck de Vries (Toyota), and Mick Schumacher who will be making his debut in the World Endurance Championship for Alpine.

“It’s fantastic for the Alpine endurance team to have Mick,” Ocon said of Schumacher joining the Alpine family. “I think he’s bringing a lot of experience, expertise, and he’s obviously a very talented driver in general and I really hope that they are going to be winning Le Mans this year.”

Ocon also mentioned his desire to get Schumacher back into F1, saying, “I’ll be supporting, cheering for them and I hope to see Mick in Formula 1 in the near future again.”

Alonso rues cost of Ocon crash, but pace is still there for Brazilian GP

Fernando Alonso believes his clash with Esteban Ocon cost him a chance of points in the Sprint, but Aston Martin’s pace bodes well for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Ocon was on a flying lap and passing Alonso – on a slow lap and to the outside of the …

Fernando Alonso believes his clash with Esteban Ocon cost him a chance of points in the Sprint, but Aston Martin’s pace bodes well for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Ocon was on a flying lap and passing Alonso — on a slow lap and to the outside of the track — at Turn 3 when the Frenchman had a snap of oversteer. The correction saw him run wide and hit Alonso’s front left wheel, causing Ocon to crash heavily and damaging the Aston Martin to the extent it couldn’t run again after the end of SQ1.

Starting the Sprint from 15th, Alonso climbed to 11th with some strong overtakes and says it shows more was possible with a clean day.

“Yes, it was [frustrating] because I think we had good pace,” Alonso said. “Now in the race, we saw that we were fast, so we lost a possibility to score a few points. But it is [what] it is. Better that it happened today and not in the main qualifying yesterday. So let’s see tomorrow in the race if we’re going to score big points.”

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The stewards investigated the Sprint Shootout collision and opted to take no further action against either driver, with Alonso feeling both were unlucky.

“I don’t think it could go either way,” the Spaniard said. “I think he lost the car, and unfortunately I was in the wrong place in the wrong moment. But without losing the car, you never go there. But you know, this is the way it is.”

While Alonso is confident the pace shown on Saturday bodes well for Sunday’s grand prix when he will start fourth behind teammate Lance Stroll, he says the psychological boost for Aston Martin could be just as important regardless of the weekend’s final result.

“It was promising,” he said. “Definitely we have to execute a good race tomorrow without any mistakes. Hopefully a good start with the strategy, and we can go through the first couple of laps without any incident, then let’s see the pace. If it’s enough to finish in the top five, top six, whatever, we will take it.

“I think especially after this race we have some kind of relief, some weight off the shoulders of some people, and going into the right direction is a good boost for everyone in the factory. We really needed this type of performance here in Brazil.

“If we had another weekend struggling, maybe that was a little bit worrying, but we always kept pragmatic and doing some tests, some experiments, even if they were painful, and hopefully we have a lot of data now to analyze everything.”

Russell, Ocon, Gasly hit with impeding penalties in Brazil

George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all been handed two-place grid penalties for impeding other cars at the pit exit in qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The FIA had changed the regulations to mandate a maximum delta time …

George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all been handed two-place grid penalties for impeding other cars at the pit exit in qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The FIA had changed the regulations to mandate a maximum delta time between Safety Car Line 2 — at the pit exit — and Safety Car Line 1 — at the pit entry — from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards to reduce the risks of drivers backing up in the final sector to create gaps in qualifying. This served to move the issue of cars slowing to the pit exit — as seen in Mexico last week — so the race director’s notes in Brazil made clear that any car going slowly in the pit lane had to move fully to the left to allow others to overtake if they wish.

However, with a long and narrow pit exit at Interlagos, there were multiple incidents of potential impeding and Russell, Ocon and Gasly all received the same grid penalty for preventing others from passing.

“[When] exiting the pits, preparing for an out lap, [the drivers in question] went slow to create a gap for a clear lap, but did not manage to stay completely to the left,” the stewards’ decision read. “As a result, following car(s) were not able to overtake, as intended by the Race Director’s instructions. This clearly violates the wording and the spirit of item 14 of the Race Director’s Event Notes.”

The penalties apply to the grand prix on Sunday — rather than the Sprint on Saturday — as the incidents occurred in qualifying for the main race. Russell was the highest-placed of the trio originally, so he drops from sixth to eighth on the grid. Ocon and Gasly had qualified next to each other and are demoted to 14th and 15th respectively.

Williams drivers, Stroll recovering after receiving heat-related medical attention

Both Williams drivers have been assessed and cleared by medical teams after needing treatment for heat-related issues following the Qatar Grand Prix. While Esteban Ocon was sick in his helmet early in the race, that was only revealed after the …

Both Williams drivers have been assessed and cleared by medical teams after needing treatment for heat-related issues following the Qatar Grand Prix.

While Esteban Ocon was sick in his helmet early in the race, that was only revealed after the checkered flag and so it was Logan Sargeant’s radio messages that highlighted the problems drivers were facing. Sargeant told his team he was feeling unwell but insisted he could continue before eventually retiring and needing to be helped from his car, and was visited by the FIA doctor for treatment.

“Following Logan’s retirement from the grand prix, he has been assessed and cleared by the medical team on-site after suffering from intense dehydration during the race weakened by having flu like symptoms earlier in the week,” Williams confirmed.

The end of the race saw multiple drivers needing help and to take time cooling their body temperatures, but Alex Albon and Lance Stroll were two who struggled to get out of their cars in parc ferme, with Albon needing to be taken to the medical center.

“Following the Qatar Grand Prix, Alex was taken to the medical centre to be treated for acute heat exposure,” Williams also said. “He has now been assessed and cleared by the medical team.”

Stroll nearly collapsed after climbing out of his car and stumbled to a nearby ambulance for aid, but was able to return to carry out media duties and told Sky Sports he was passing out in certain corners.

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“Frustrated — we finished ninth but then two track limit penalties put us 11th, so it’s annoying that such a hard race, physically and just grinding out there, we didn’t come out with any points,” Stroll said.

“It’s ridiculous. These temperatures… Everything goes blurry. The last 25-30 laps was just blurry in the high-speed corners, blood pressure dropping and just passing out basically in the car in the high-speed corners with high G-forces.

“And then the curbs now are painted because they were worried about punctures with these high-loaded G-force corners and the tires. They painted the curbs to make the track even narrower, so you’re reliant just on your visual references to be outside of the track and what that is. But the last 20-25 laps you can’t really see anything because you’re just fainting as you go through those corners.

“It’s really a shame with such a hard fought race we only got 11th, because we finished ninth, started 17th and the car felt good today. And I felt like we had good pace and drove a good race but just super hard.”