Esteban Ocon has laughed off claims that Alpine's decision to give reserve driver Jack Doohan his seat in FP1 in Canada is punishment for his Monaco collision with teammate Pierre Gasly.
Earlier this week, Ocon and Alpine announced that they would be parting ways at the end of this season, but it is believed the mutual decision was in large part agreed even before the Monaco Grand Prix.
In the aftermath of the incident in the Principality, Alpine team boss Bruno Famin had suggested that Ocon’s ill-fated maneuver would not go unchecked.
Therefore, when Alpine communicated on Wednesday that Doohan would replace Ocon for Friday’s opening practice, it was immediately interpreted as a sanction by the Enstone squad.
Speaking in Montreal on Thursday, Ocon rubbished the assumption.
“I've seen that a lot from the media, and it's not the case at all,” he said. “As a team we have to give two FP1s for rookies. And I'm giving mine to Jack here.
“It's a track that's going to be green to start with, with the new tarmac, and it's quite dirty at the moment. So, things need to be cleaned up a little bit.
“I got a five-place grid penalty as well, unfortunately for the race. So, my qualifying is a lot less important than usual. It's more the race trim.
“And, from a team point of view, we think we are going to have probably a more competitive car later in the year. So, for us, you know, to do that [run Doohan] early is a good thing, instead of doing it in Mexico, Abu Dhabi, like we usually do.”
Esteban Ocon and Alpine reserve Jack Doohan.
Addressing his split with Alpine, Ocon suggested that the break up had been in the works for some time before its official confirmation on Monday.
“We've been talking with the team for several months,” he said, “Alpine is a big group, Renault is a big group, and it's the kind of team that is not taking decisions on just a single race.
“We've been talking. We've agreed mutually to come to an end, basically, at the end of the contract.
“I've spent five years inside this team. We had some amazing moments and [tougher] ones, but five years in terms of Formula 1 world is a long time. Definitely.
“And, yeah, I'm excited for the challenge ahead and excited to finish the collaboration on a high.”
Ocon suggested that he had held a productive conversation with Famin at Enstone before traveling to Canada, insisting there are no underlying tensions within the team.
“I was at the factory for normal preparation before the weekend, and had a chat with Bruno,” he said.
“We were just talking about a lot of things and there's no awkward moment, and there is no damage between our relationships altogether.
“Everything has been discussed. We move on, and we keep racing to try and do the best we can.”
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