Double points, but still tensions
There doesn’t seem to be any possibility of having a peaceful week inside the garage Alpinenot even when the two drivers – for the first time in the season – both managed to finish the race in the points. Gasly and Ocon in fact finished in ninth and tenth position the Montreal race, thus allowing the French team to climb to five points in the Constructors’ standings, moving away from Williams and just two points behind Haas.
After the race however, to the microphones of Sky Sports F1, Ocon accused the team of putting him at a disadvantage over Gaslyimposing a team order defined by #31 “nonsense“. “I received the order to let Pierre pass with a lap and a half or two laps to go, to pick up Daniel [Ricciardo] who was two and a half seconds ahead and was too fast for us, so the call made no sense. But I did my share of work, that is, that of a team man“.
Ocon at odds with the team
This episode fits into a very tense context within the team owned by Renault: Ocon and Alpine in fact announced last week that they will not continue their adventure together in 2025. Furthermore, the former third Mercedes driver has just returned from the accident in Monaco in which he hit his own Gasly’s sister car, retiring and being heavily criticized by team principal Bruno Famin.
“I have always respected the instructions given to me, it has always been like this and I have never done anything different in my career – commented Ocon after the Canadian round – today I did my share of work, but the team didn’t and this is very sad“. The Frenchman, who is also seeking a seat for 2025, also said he would being “too kind”adding that “Being too kind is not the right attitude to have in Formula 1, but I have shown that I am a team player and that is what counts”.
With 15 GPs still to go, the real risk now seems that the destinies of Alpine and Ocon could even separate before the end of the season.
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