Alpine boss threatens “consequences” because of Esteban Ocon’s attack on Pierre Gasly

Esteban Ocon’s attack on Pierre Gasly on the first lap made Alpine boss Bruno Famin so angry that he threatened consequences.

On the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, Ocon passed Gasly on the inside at Portier, resulting in a violent collision that knocked Ocon out of the race as his car was thrown into the air.

Esteban Ocon eliminated from the Monaco Grand Prix

The French driver, who started the race from eleventh place on the grid directly behind Gasly, saw a small gap in the right-hand Portier curve and hurled his car towards the inside of Alpine’s sister car.

Coming through the corner, Gasly ran out of space on the outside and Ocon’s left rear tyre struck Gasly’s right front tyre – his car was thrown into the air and landed heavily with suspension damage, putting him out of the race, although moments later the red flag was shown for the dreaded accident involving Sergio Perez and the two Haas drivers.

Ocon was investigated by the FIA ​​stewards and found responsible for the incident. He received a 10-second time penalty. His penalty was converted into a five-place grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix as he had retired from the race.

As an Alpine race was cancelled as a result of the incident, Alpine boss Bruno Famin gave a brief interview to the French television channel Canal+ in which he suggested that Ocon’s audacity could have consequences.

“It is sad to see such incidents,” he told Canal +.

“This is exactly what we didn’t want to see. Esteban’s attack came about completely untimely.

“It was exactly what we didn’t want to see and we will face the consequences. We will make a difficult decision.”

“If we were fighting for a podium at the end of the race, why not, and still… But there, on the first lap, at Le Portier, it was honestly not the right place to attack and he left no room for his teammate.”

Ocon apologized for the incident on Twitter, saying: “Today’s incident was my fault, the gap was too small in the end and I apologize to the team for that. I hope the team gets a well-deserved points finish today.”

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Speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, after his retirement, Ocon confirmed that his back was fine after the hard landing and that he regretted the incident.

“We will definitely review everything and try to do better next time,” he said.

Ocon explained that his gearbox suffered the most damage and would likely have put him out of the race even if he had managed to get back to the pits at the red flag. He also confirmed that he had not yet spoken to Famin about the incident but misjudged the attack on his teammate.

“You have to be careful, but at the same time we are giving 120 percent to get into the top 10, for me and for Pierre. We saw it yesterday, we really pushed ourselves to the limit in qualifying. Mistakes happen. That’s how it is.”

Ocon’s contract with Alpine ends at the end of the 2024 F1 season. The French driver has recently been particularly keen to highlight his connection to Mercedes, as he has been linked with the vacant cockpit at Mercedes.

Alpine’s reserve driver is Australian Jack Doohan, and the team also has Mick Schumacher in its ranks – the German driver still holds a valid F1 super license and remains a possible candidate for a place in Formula 1.

Continue reading: Red Bull destroyed as Monaco Grand Prix red-flagged after Lap 1 crash