Alpine driver Esteban Ocon found himself in hot water after colliding with his team-mate Pierre Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix. Helmut Marko believes this incident is part of a larger ‘problem’ for Alpine, making it tough to find a solution.
Ocon and Gasly clashed at Portier on the opening lap, sending Ocon airborne. Although Ocon apologized, Gasly managed to carry on and score a point—his first of the season. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time the two have had issues.
Alpine team principal Bruno Famin warned of ‘consequences’ for Ocon, as in-team collisions break a golden rule. Helmut Marko of Red Bull pointed out that his team had similar problems in the past. He cited instances in 2018 with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in Baku, and in 2010 with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel in Turkey. They managed by discussing the issues openly with the drivers and making it clear that such behavior was unacceptable.
Marko wrote in a column for Speedweek, ‘We’ve had this twice at Red Bull Racing with team-mates getting in each other’s way. In both cases, we summoned both drivers to the company and discussed it openly with them, making it clear to them that such collisions with team-mates are simply not acceptable.’
He added, ‘Ricciardo then left us at the end of the season and there were no more such incidents with Webber; they accepted that this was not acceptable. Measures are difficult to implement in such a case, because you would have to be able to prove clear intent, and that is not the case. The driver then says that he misjudged the accident, which means that there is no longer any intent. The problem with Alpine, however, is that it wasn’t the first time, and I think that adds to the difficulty.’
After the collision, Gasly expressed his frustration, stating Ocon needs to ‘make a change’ in his driving approach. He believed Ocon ignored team orders: the car that qualified behind was supposed to support the leading car throughout the race. Gasly told media, including PlanetF1.com, ‘I was quite shocked, and you know, it was very unnecessary. For the team, you know, you should never have such a situation, especially between team-mates. So, just sad.’
He continued, ‘Disappointed with the situation, and especially because we had clear instructions before the race on what to do and whoever qualified ahead, the trailing car was supposed to help throughout the race with the strategy. But unfortunately, didn’t happen. And that, we definitely need to speak because we can’t afford especially in the season like that, to have points [dropped], all might be crucial at the end of the year, and just got to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.’
The ongoing clashes between Ocon and Gasly are causing significant issues for Alpine, making it a tough challenge to resolve. With the high stakes of the F1 season, ensuring such incidents don’t recur will be crucial for the team’s success.
Source: Planetf1
