F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ocon lashes out at Raikkonen for opening lap clash!

Where most may have seen a simple racing incident, Force India's Esteban Ocon saw only one man responsible for his demise on the opening lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Ocon and Raikkonen were barrelling down to Turn 3 after the start when the Ferrari driver made an attempt to pass the Force India on the inside of the corner.

The two made contact, with Ocon pitched into a slide and coming to rest against the outside wall while the Ferrari was able to continue its race.

There were no doubts in the Frenchman's mind about who had been ultimately responsible for the clash.

"Clearly I had a great start, really good, I managed to overtake him in turn 2, I was ahead of him on the straight. I was completely ahead, he was behind," Ocon told French broadcaster Canal +.

"I don't know what he did, he released the brakes and hit me."

A frustrated and obviously disappointed Ocon saw a big opportunity for points being blown away. The 21-year-old also believed that the perpetrator of his demise -as a Ferrari driver - should have been racing further up the field

"It's clearly a missed opportunity after a great start to the weekend. I think Perez is going to score a lot of points, it's good for the team.

"What do we want to tell Kimi? He doesn't talk. He's not in the position he should be with a Ferrari.

"He made a mistake yesterday, he made another one today."

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Michael Delaney

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