There was some fantastic racing during the Austrian Grand Prix although not every move was as clean as each driver would have liked.
While Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’s collision at turn three has drawn plenty of criticism, some other key battles took place further down the standings.
Reflecting on the race for Sky Sports F1, racing driver and pundit Naomi Schiff was speaking about one driver who got his elbows out during the Austrian Grand Prix.
George Russell didn’t have to complete any daring overtakes to secure his second Formula 1 race win, while Oscar Piastri fought his way through several of his rivals in the championship.
However, the battle for the final points was much more intense, with the bottom five manufacturers separated by just 30 points.
The main beneficiaries were Haas, with Nico Hulkenberg starring in 6 place and earning the praise of Max Verstappen and his teammate Kevin Magnussen earning four points of his own.
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly scored the final point for his team, securing his fourth top-ten finish on the bounce.
However, Schiff questioned his teammate Esteban Ocon’s racecraft during the Austrian Grand Prix, particularly in his battle with Gasly.
He eventually lost out to his fellow countryman and came home in 12, and Schiff has questioned what message that sends to other team principals on the grid as he searches for a new seat for 2025 after his 144 F1 Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Alpine driver Esteban Ocon’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend
Naomi Schiff questions ‘personal’ racecraft from Alpine driver Esteban Ocon
Talking about the French driver, Schiff said: “I mean that move [on Fernando Alonso] was under investigation at one point where he was obviously very aggressive on his defence and he cut across the track in front of Fernando, could have been slightly dangerous.
“But, unfortunately when it played out on the broadcast, we couldn’t tell exactly whether that [his Wow! message] was in time.
“I mean Esteban [Ocon], Esteban, Esteban, it’s been a busy weekend for him, from qualifying where we felt when we looked back at it that he was almost deliberately trying to drop his teammate out it was so tight for time.
“The battles that they had out there, he’s a driver without a drive and I don’t know what he’s doing for himself to the other teams up and down the paddock to show that he’s a team player and he’s doing everything he can to focus on the benefit of the team.
“It felt as if they managed their relationship, Esteban and Pierre [Gasly] up until this point.
“Now it feels a bit like it’s getting personal and obviously we can only see from the outside, we don’t know exactly, but there’s been a couple of incidents too many where you start to think, is it personal?
“Then you see him do that to Alonso and you think, maybe that’s just the way Esteban races.”
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Who could sign Esteban Ocon drive for in the 2025 Formula 1 season?
Esteban Ocon’s racing style hasn’t changed since his F1 debut with Manor back in 2016.
Since then, he’s had close encounters with several teammates including Gasly – who eventually past Ocon around the outside in Austria after some very questionable tactics in the braking zones – Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez.
However, Ocon is still expected to be on the grid next year and there appear to be two potential destinations for the Frenchman.
The most likely at this stage is Haas, with Ocon expected to partner with rookie Oliver Bearman in 2025.
There is still a chance that Ocon joins Audi – currently Sauber – with their top choice, Carlos Sainz still deciding between a trio of teams for next year.
Ayao Komatsu might have his work cut out trying to control Ocon who will feel he can finally be the team leader for an F1 manufacturer if he signs for the American outfit.
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