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Ocon has no hard feelings for apologetic Vettel

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Alpine's Esteban Ocon won't hold a grudge against Sebastian Vettel following the pair's run-in in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ocon had just passed the Aston Martin driver on the run down to Turn 1 in the latter part of the race when Vettel misjudged his breaking and slammed into the back of the Alpine, pushing both cars off course.

Both drivers recovered and saw the checkered flag, although well out of the points while Vettel was handed a 10-second time penalty for the ill-fated maneuver.

On Aston's team radio, the German driver initially accused his rival of changing lines before admitting after the race that the blunder was his and apologizing to Ocon.

"I've watched the incident just now," Ocon said after the race. "And you know, he came up to me and apologised and told me he got the penalty.

"He got the penalty for it, so it's all okay. If we were fighting for good points at the time, I would have been more upset clearly."

"I spoke with him straightaway," confirmed Vettel, "and I think we agree so there's not that much to say."

Ocon suspected Vettel was caught out by the dirty air circulating in his Alpine's wake.

"It looks like I stayed on my line, he looks like he got in my dirty air," he said. "So he's moving to the left to the normal line, but he's lost grip, basically.

"That's when he locks up and hits me in the back. So we got a little bit of damage after that. But we managed to finish the race, which, you know, show that we fought until the end for that one."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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