Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is at risk of a one-race suspension after making contact with teammate Pierre Gasly at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix. Team principal Bruno Famin has been left fuming by the incident.
It should have been a positive day for the French team at what is effectively their home race, with Paul Ricard no longer on the calendar. Gasly finished 10th to score his first point of the campaign and double Alpine’s tally for the season.
But that was completely overshadowed by Ocon’s collision with the sister car. The former Racing Point driver tried to pass Gasly down the inside of Portier, but he ended up sustaining race-ending damage.
Famin grabbed headlines after the race when he declared that there would be ‘consequences’ for Ocon. He says the team will make a ‘tough decision’.
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz spotted the 62-year-old in conversation with reserve driver Jack Doohan in the pit lane. He raised the possibility that Doohan could race at the Canadian GP, with Ocon benched.
Just two races ago in Miami, the Alpines had come close to a similar incident on lap one. Martin Brundle was stunned after watching them run side-by-side through the extremely tight chicane before the back straight.
Alpine could use same ‘code of conduct’ Mercedes did for Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg
Motorsport.com have now outlined the possible penalties Ocon may face for ignoring the team’s instructions. There are ‘a whole range of options’ under consideration.
A ‘change of driver line-up’ is one of those, even though the 27-year-old leads the qualifying head-to-head 6-2 and the race-day battle 6-1. Both are out of contract at the end of the season.
If they choose to be more lenient, they could simply fine Ocon a portion of his wages. They might also institute team orders that prevent the two drivers from fighting for position.
Finally, they could go down the same route Mercedes did in 2016. The rivalry between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton reached boiling point that year as they took each other out at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix.
The world champions subsequently forced both drivers to agree to a ‘code of conduct’ for future engagement. If they broke that code, they would find themselves banned for one race.
Martin Brundle issues verdict on Esteban Ocon clash with Pierre Gasly
Gasly came over the team radio immediately after the incident to express his dismay and report that the ‘whole car’ was damaged. Fortunately, there was a lengthy red-flag period after Sergio Perez collected both Haas drivers.
Alpine had precious time to carry out some repairs so their one remaining car was still in a fit state to score a point. But that didn’t cool Famin’s anger.
Brundle says Ocon was guilty of doing something you simply ‘do not’ do as a racing driver. The 2021 Hungarian GP winner saw a rare opportunity to make a move on the streets of Monaco, but it ultimately proved too risky.
This is the second year of the Gasly and Ocon pairing, and it may well be the last. While Alpine are making progress in terms of performance, they’ve now been plunged into a fresh crisis.
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