Alpine’s Silence Too Loud as Esteban Ocon’s Statement Begs For Support

Esteban Ocon’s first lap incident in Monaco has him under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. His race-ending collision with Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly brought down the wrath of Team Principal Bruno Famin, who claimed there would be ‘serious consequences’. Ocon is saddened, and the lack of empathy from Alpine as a whole has attracted fury from the F1 community.

Ocon admitted to being hurt by the negativity in the aftermath of the Monaco GP. He took to both Instagram and X, to share his feelings and shut down rumors of him getting benched by Alpine. Ocon said,

“We are not robots. We are athletes pushing ourselves to the limit every day to achieve our dreams of winning races. But the misinformed statements and gross distortions that I have seen online in recent days about my ability to work with a team have been inaccurate, hurtful, and damaging.” 

Ocon was called a bad driver, a bad teammate, and a problematic entity in the paddock. Despite this, all Alpine did was respond with a few heart-shaped emojis under Ocon’s post. This was the only form of support the Enstone-based outfit has shown for its driver since the Monaco GP.

Other teams in the past have issued statements of solidarity to bemoan online abuse hurled at their driver or others in F1. This spoke volumes of the internal unrest within the stable and has also left the F1 community exasperated.

Fans showcase their support for Esteban Ocon by condemning Alpine’s response

Most feel that a simple emoji response in support of a driver facing online backlash is unacceptable. The fans made this evident with their reactions to Ocon’s post on X, as they blamed the team for this outcome.

Many feel that the entire ordeal has gone too far. And Alpine being ignorant has contributed to the abuse Ocon is facing.

A simple statement made by Alpine’s bosses or Pierre Gasly himself could have helped get the steam off Ocon’s back. However, there has been no support and no comment about the same, despite Ocon openly admitting to his mistake after the Monaco GP.

So far, there hasn’t been any news of Ocon being sidelined for the upcoming Canadian GP. As a result, what “consequences” Alpine has for the 27-year-old, remains to be seen.