Pierre Gasly admitted to being disappointed by Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon following the pair’s opening lap clash in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix and which sidelined the latter from the race.
Gasly and Ocon had qualified respectively P10 and P11, Alpine’s best result of the 2024 season, while a stroke of luck allowed the duo to gain a position on the run down to Mirabeau after Carlos Sainz pulled off the track with a puncture.
But disaster struck further down the road when Ocon made a risky lunge down the inside of Gasly at Portier corner.
Unfortunately, with limited space to maneuver on the exit, Gasly’s right front wheel tagged Ocon’s rear left, propelling the latter’s car into the air before it suffered a heavy landing that caused terminal suspension and gearbox damage.
Gasly emerged unscathed from the run-in, save for a puncture, but the red flag deployed shortly after following Sergio Perez’s earlier crash at Beau Rivage offered an opportunity for a reset that ultimately delivered to Alpine its second championship point of the season.
But Gasly was clearly frustrated with how his race had started and disappointed by Ocon’s behaviour and the consequences of his ill-fated move.
"It was very unnecessary; you should never have such a situation, especially between team-mates," the Frenchman said.
"Just sad. Disappointed with the situation. Especially, we had clear instructions before the race on what to do, and whoever qualified ahead, the trailing car was supposed to help throughout the race.
"That was the strategy. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. We definitely need to speak because we can't afford [it] – especially in a season like that."
Gasly reckoned that Ocon had likely deprived Alpine of an even better result in Monaco.
"At that time, we're P9 and P10, so there's absolutely no reason to risk to get both cars out,” he added. "We came a couple of centimetres from having both cars in the wall."
Asked if Ocon’s aggressive move was perhaps motivated by his need to impress in his quest for a seat in F1 in 2025, he said: "I don't want to answer that, [he's] a professional driver.
"You just know what do to and what not to do – even more with your team-mate. He's a very good driver, he knows what he does, so he just needs to make a change."
Ocon was quick to own up to his mistake which earned him a five-place grid penalty for next month’s Canadian Grand Prix.
"Today’s incident was my fault, the gap was too small in the end and I apologise to the team on this one," he wrote on social media. "Hoping for a deserved points-finish for the team today."
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