F1 | Ocon backed by ‘right people’ after Gasly crash

Esteban Ocon has revealed he received support from the “right people” following his controversial clash with Pierre Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Frenchman dived inside his teammate at Portier on the opening lap of the race in the Principality, before the pair collided, forcing him to retire and leaving his sister car with significant damage.

Ocon incurred the ire of then team principal Bruno Famin and, a few days later, it was announced that he would be leaving the team at the end of the season. Haas was later confirmed as his home base for next year.

He was even threatened with suspension for the Canadian Grand Prix – a punishment that never came to fruition – while the abuse he suffered on social media prompted Ocon to issue a statement on the excessive tone the affair had taken.

After confirming that Williams team principal James Vowles, who was a key part of the Mercedes programme under which the former Euro F3 champion rose through the ranks, had phoned him to support him, Ocon told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview: “Of course, it’s nice to have the support of the right people. There’s been a lot of noise, which is never a good thing.”

“Whenever there’s noise left and right, there’s always something big that’s happened. And it’s certainly taken on too big a proportion, especially on social media, as Damon Hill said…”

“He said, ‘I’m glad I didn’t drive in the days of social media.’ That’s what he said. In those days, yes, you would have a conversation with the press and then go back to the next race, but that’s why I made the social media statement that I did – and it was important to speak up at the time that I did.”

“There’s not much more to say, you know, on this aspect. The things that happened are in the past and we move on.”

Ocon reiterated that he immediately took responsibility for the Monaco GP, also putting into perspective the criticism levelled at him for his attempted overtaking.

“I made a mistake on the exit of the corner,” Ocon recalls. “I didn’t leave enough space on the exit. But the initial maneuver wasn’t bad. It was on the exit that I misjudged the space.”

“Unfortunately we had a collision, I raised my hand and apologized to the team, but from then on it should have stopped. But unfortunately it didn’t. But since then things have changed. People have calmed down on social media. It’s good.”