Alpine driver Esteban Ocon is a man under pressure right now after making a crucial error at the beginning of the Monaco Grand Prix.
He was involved in one of three major incidents on the opening lap of the race in Monaco although he wasn’t responsible for the accident that brought out the red flag.
Bernie Collins was speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast about the incident and its potential implications.
Alpine team principal Bruno Famin was incredibly upset with Esteban Ocon in the immediate aftermath of his collision with Pierre Gasly.
He failed to pull off a daring move down the inside of Portier and his car was sent flying through the air causing enough damage that he had to be retired from the race after the red flag.
Famin warned of ‘appropriate consequences’ in an interview with Canal+ during the race, leading to speculation that Ocon could be dropped for the Canadian Grand Prix, but Bernie Collins is unsure whether that will be the case.
If the Frenchman isn’t on the grid in Montreal, his time with Alpine will almost certainly be coming to an end.
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Bernie Collins gives her verdict on Esteban Ocon’s potential Canadian Grand Prix dropping
After watching Ocon’s car pirouette through the air after catching Pierre Gasly’s rear right tyre, Famin was far from impressed.
The 27-year-old was seen walking through the pit lane in casual clothes before the race even restarted, highlighting that the damage caused was irreparable and denying Gasly the rear gunner he could have potentially needed to score his first points of the season.
In an interview with Canal+, Famin said: “It’s sad, this kind of incident. It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see. And there will be the appropriate consequences.”
Before the race had even finished, Ocon took to social media to apologise for his actions.
Bernie Collins has suggested that she would be surprised if Ocon didn’t line up for Alpine at the Canadian Grand Prix.
However, reserve driver Jack Doohan is waiting in the wings and his work behind the scenes in Monaco didn’t go unnoticed to help Gasly secure his 10-place finish.
The young Australian is fighting for a place on the grid next year and has put himself in a very strong position.
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Esteban Ocon facing a nervous wait ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix
Asked if she expects Ocon to start the race in Canada, Collins said: “I’d be surprised if they bench him for Canada.
“I think you want your best options of getting points from both drivers on the day and they have a good driver pairing.
“The ideal thing you want at a team like that is if one driver’s not picking up points, the other driver’s right there.
“And actually, the drivers have been pretty close in qualifying and racing and too close!
“That’s the way that team is best going to score points. But, they need to be pulling together.
“Both in car development, in supporting each other, we’ve seen Haas this year if you look at the points are way ahead in the points because those two guys having been working pretty well together.
“We had the incident earlier on in the year where Kevin [Magnussen] was holding up traffic for [Nico] Hulkenberg.
“That sort of teammate is what’s going to get the points, so they need to be together on that and it doesn’t seem like they are at the minute.”
Esteban Ocon exploring his options to leave Alpine in 2025
Even if Alpine do allow Ocon to race at the Canadian Grand Prix as Collins suggests, it’s hard to see him being retained by the team beyond the end of the contract which expires in the winter.
Pierre Gasly is already expected to be the more likely driver to be retained out of their current lineup.
Ocon has been linked with a move to Haas next year and could replace either driver at the American team.
He’s also on Audi’s shortlist in case they fail to sign Carlos Sainz from Ferrari.
Ocon is still manager by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff although he’s not in the frame to replace Lewis Hamilton and Martin Brundle believes no top team will ever consider him due to his temperament.
However, Wolff may try and place Ocon at Williams next year with Logan Sargeant’s future in serious doubt.
The post ‘I’d be surprised’: Bernie Collins shares whether she thinks Esteban Ocon will be dropped for the Canadian GP appeared first on F1 Oversteer.