“I was going to let Fernando Alonso pass” – Esteban Ocon feels Alpine misinterpreted his radio message

Esteban Ocon was involved in another heated radio exchange with his team. Ahead of the safety car restart on lap 58, the Frenchman was instructed not to battle Fernando Alonso and to allow him to pass as he had much fresher tyres.

Ocon denied the request and replied, “Let me race.” He said that he wanted to pass Vettel at the earliest and would hand over the place to Alonso later as there is still a lot of racing left.

However, he was restored by his engineer in a commanding tone, saying, “Esteban, I don’t want you fighting with Fernando. Is that understood?” Ocon agreed and complied with the team order allowing Alonso to pass during the restart.

 

Ocon later clarified that it was not his intention to hold up Fernando. But it was not suitable for the team to limit his racing in that particular way.

Also Read: “Not my problem next year”: Fernando Alonso is glad he has to deal with Esteban Ocon for only one more race

Esteban Ocon said he had no intention of blocking Fernando Alonso

Esteban Ocon was looking to attack the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel as soon as racing resumed. But then came the radio message to allow Fernando Alonso through. On hearing this message, many felt sinister blood brewing between the drivers following their collision in the Sprint race on Saturday.

Ocon denied it and claimed there was an error in translating. He intended to convey the message that he’ll pass Vettel and let Alonso through.

He said, “I was not going to fight. I’m going to let him through. And that’s what I did. I couldn’t have held them. He was very fast on the soft tyre. And obviously, there were points for the whole team to grab.

Ocon added, “I knew I was in a situation, and the team didn’t need to tell me what to do.” he praised Alonso for his recovery after starting P17 and claiming crucial points.

Alonso and Ocon started the races P17 and P18. But the duo finished P5 and P8, respectively, securing 14 points for the French Team. It helps the team extend their lead over McLaren by 19 points in the battle for P4.

Also Read: Helmut Marko clears the air amidst tensions in the Red Bull garage

Fernando Alonso accepts mistake during Sprint race

Esteban Ocon made contact twice with Fernando Alonso during the earlier Sprint race at the same weekend. The Frenchman caused significant damage to Alonso’s front wing as Alonso remarked, “I lost the front wing thanks to our friend.”

The two drivers were knocked to the back of the grid, and Alonso received a five-second time penalty. The Spaniard made a biting remark post the race saying, “It’s one more race and then it’s finally over.”

Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer was disappointed with his drivers and said, “Both Esteban and Fernando have let the team down.” However, Alonso accepted his bit after the race on Sunday.

He said, “I made a mistake yesterday when Esteban and I made contact. So today we wanted to do our best and race hard for the team. We needed these points heading to Abu Dhabi. There is one more race with the team to go and my heart is in the racing.”

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