Mess in Alpine: Gasly, combing, surprise in front of his team and disagreement with Ocon

Alpine are living in a very complicated time. He wants to get close to the best, repeat last year’s fourth place in the Constructors and achieve some podiums. This is what they said at the beginning of the course. But the team is suffering a lot. He was 6th in the Constructors’ World Championship and before the summer break, announced the dismissals of its then CEO, and then fired the Team Principal, the sports director and the technical director. And even worse, the French team saw how a team that was behind, like McLaren, was able to make the competitive jump that Alpine had to fight to become the second best car in many races. Plus, it has two drivers who have been at odds for years. This tension is noticeable in the environment and perhaps there is influenced on Pierre Gasly’s viral reaction after the Japanese F1 GPwhere he clearly and emphatically complains about his team’s decision to ask him to give up his position to Esteban Ocon at the end of the race, at the last turn. gasly hopefully next time “Esteban be fair,” while Ocon did not agree.

The Alpine drivers changed their positions twice. Esteban Ocon let Pierre Gasly pass on lap 46, but on the last lap (53), the team asked Pierre to return that place to the Norman pilot. That last indication didn’t seem good to Gasly as he understood that he was faster than Esteban Ocon and his teammate overtook him as he entered the pits earlier, but later, with a younger tire , he caught up with her. anyway even Esteban I won’t miss him.

so, Gasly referred to what they were asking him as a “joke” and began making clearly angry gestures with his hands, hitting the steering wheel and also combs the air against what his team had decided.

What they said to Ocon on the radio

“Pierre is two seconds behind. We have to pass him on this lap, please. I know that means going back, but we have to do it on this lap,” they asked Ocon on the radio on lap 46. There , Esteban asked to return his position if, after allowing his teammate, Gasly could not overtake anyone.

“If he doesn’t advance, he will give us the position back. “Can you confirm it?” Ocon commented. “Let’s see what we can do”, his engineer replied. And finally, Gasly was asked to give Esteban his place back.

Gasly: ​​”Next time Esteban will be fair”

“There was never talk that we would have to reverse the position again because I started at the front and was always at the front. As a team, tenth or ninth, ninth or tenth, the result is the same. But it’s definitely not something I expected and it’s not something I really understand, because I’m in the lead car, but we’ll talk about it,” Pierre commented after the race.

Gasly started the Japanese GP in 12th place, with Ocon 14th. Esteban had to go into the pits at the end of the first lap due to a puncture. Their strategies became different. Gasly believes Ocon passed him in the race due to taking advantage of an undercut, but he can still catch him.

“Obviously with the strategy they planned at some point Esteban will overtake me. But my race is faster and I have to pass him. I would have passed him on the track because he had newer tires and it was part of the strategy, and it was what we talked about before the race. Until then everything was the same, it was just the last lap. But it is something that we will talk about, we will explain it and I am sure that next time, the other way around, Esteban will be fair,” argument.

Ocon replied: “The same goes for Ricciardo or Alonso…”

“I have been in this team for four years and the rule is always the same. “If you change the position initially, like I did to Pierre, when I gave him the position, if you don’t overtake another car you always change again before the end,” commented Esteban Ocon.

“With Daniel (Ricciardo) the same thing happened, with Fernando (Alonso) the same thing happened. We did that, it was me, him and if it is the other way around I will do the same. I always prefer to fight on the track, which is more of the “old school” style, but I understand the team’s point of view, to try to get more points. I think today we maximized what was on the table and we can be proud of ourselves for good teamwork.”