Alpine team boss Bruno Famin has assured Esteban Ocon that he will receive equal treatment to Pierre Gasly for the remainder of the Formula 1 season, despite renewed tensions within the French outfit last weekend.
In Montreal, the relationship between the Enstone squad and Ocon was strained once again when the latter was ordered to relinquish his position to Gasly in the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The call aimed to facilitate an attack on RB’s Daniel Ricciardo who was running in eighth position. But when Gasly failed to overtake the Aussie, Ocon expected his teammate to be ordered to give the position back, which did not materialize much to the Frenchman’s frustration.
“I’ve always respected the instruction that I’ve been given, it’s always been the case and I’ve never done anything different in my career,” commented Ocon after the race.
“I’ve done my part of the job but not the team today, and it is very sad.”
The flare-up came in the wake of Ocon’s run-in with Gasly on the opening lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, which infuriated Famin and which was followed by the announcement of Ocon’s departure from the team at the end of season.
Ocon also hinted at a performance disadvantage in Canada relative to Gasly due to a heavier car.
However, Famin denies any intention to undermine Ocon and has committed to providing the outgoing Alpine charger full support for the rest of the season.
“It has been sorted, but we had 16 and we now 15 races to go now,” commented Famin, referencing the current state of relations between team and driver.
“I think Esteban can count on all the team to help him to get the best result, because Esteban having the best result is helping the team having the best possible result. And we count on Esteban to bring everything he can bring to the team.
“I say it like that, but I should not - because Esteban is part of the team. The team is everybody within the team: driver, mechanic, engineer - everybody has to bring his own to make the best possible result for the team. And the driver is part of the team.”
With every championship point counting for Alpine in their quest to climb the constructors' standings, Famin made clear that the team needs both its drivers firing on all cylinders if they want to succeed.
“We will not put aside Esteban at all,” he said. “He will have exactly the same condition as Pierre. They are on the same level, same status.
“We know they are very close in terms of the performance, and it won't be good to do something different for anybody. Again, it's team interest: Alpine interest first.”
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