Things got heated in the final laps of the Canadian Grand Prix when Esteban Ocon was informed by his race engineer, Josh Peckett, that he needed to let his teammate, Pierre Gasly, pass him. Ocon’s frustration was palpable as the events unfolded over team radio.
The drama began when Ocon, who had already been overtaken by Daniel Ricciardo, was told to let Gasly through to see if he could chase down Ricciardo. Initially resistant, Ocon eventually complied but requested confirmation that Gasly would return the position if he couldn’t overtake Ricciardo. His engineer, Peckett, assured him that this was the plan.
On lap 69 of the 70-lap race, Ocon let Gasly pass at Turn 8. However, things did not go as Ocon expected. Instead of Gasly handing the position back, Ocon was told to push to the end. This decision did not sit well with Ocon, who sarcastically responded, ‘Yeah, amazing. Thank you, amazing. Thank you.’
In the immediate aftermath, Ocon’s frustration was evident. He bluntly told his team, ‘I’ve done what I had to do, which is the most important, but you guys didn’t do what you had to do. That’s it.’ Despite this, his engineer tried to console him by highlighting their achievement of finishing tenth after starting from the back.
After the race, Ocon continued to express his displeasure to the media, stating, ‘I think today I’ve done my part of the job, but I don’t think the team did their part of the job. I’ve been a team player and I’ve always respected the instructions that I’ve been given, always – it’s always been the case and I showed it once more today. But the nice guy doesn’t always pay off in Formula One and that is bothering me a lot.’
This season holds additional significance for Ocon as it marks his last with Alpine, the team having announced they will part ways after this year. Speculation about Ocon’s future has linked him to a move to Haas.
The Canadian Grand Prix highlighted a simmering tension within the Alpine team as Esteban Ocon felt let down by team orders. With his future at Alpine uncertain, Ocon’s frustrations might just be the beginning of a dramatic season ahead.
Source: Planetf1
