Famin considering all options in Alpine team-mate fight
Esteban Ocon invoked the fury of usually placid Alpine team principal Bruno Famin with his first-lap assault on team-mate Pierre Gasly at Portier, a hubristic move that resulted in his own retirement and almost caused an early exit for Gasly in the process.
Ocon tried to barge his way past despite Gasly already being halfway through the corner and, on the exit, their tyres made contact to lift Ocon into the air before coming back to earth with a shuddering halt. It caused damage to Ocon’s car that could not be repaired in the 40-minute red-flag hiatus, while Gasly’s suspension damage and puncture were fixed in time for him to re-assume 10th place for the restart.
Famin was incensed when speaking to Canal+: “Esteban’s dive was completely out of place, it was exactly what we didn’t want to see.”
To his credit, Ocon assumed full blame for the incident and took to X (formerly Twitter) to apologise for the incident, while Gasly said that there was a clear order in place before the grand prix started.
“You should never have such a situation, especially between team-mates,” Gasly mused. “Just sad, disappointed with the situation. 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. That was the strategy. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”
Famin warned that Ocon’s attack would come with “consequences”; it is unclear whether this would comprise a simple ban on the two drivers racing for position, or the removal of Ocon from his race seat entirely, even on a temporary basis. Famin is said to be considering all options to ensure that there are no repeats of conflict between his two drivers.