Esteban Ocon has defended himself with a 13 half assertion on X, following rumours and hypothesis he’ll miss the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix after an incident along with his teammate on the Monaco Grand Prix final weekend.
In an formidable transfer, the Frenchman tried an overtake on his teammate, Pierre Gasly, on the within at Portier, heading into the well-known Monaco tunnel. Nevertheless, the transfer resulted within the pair banging tyres, sending Ocon’s automobile airborne, all earlier than the race was purple flagged for an earlier incident.
Whereas BWT Alpine F1 Group managed to salvage a singular level with Gasly’s tenth place end, the incident wasn’t with out penalties for Ocon. Group boss Bruno Famin expressed his anger on French TV and hinted at repercussions, although it’s now identified that Ocon has retained his seat for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix. Regardless of taking duty for the crash along with his apology, the 27-year-old driver additionally took to social media to deal with the net criticism he acquired.
The prolonged X assertion learn as follows:
“A lot has been stated within the aftermath of the Monaco Grand Prix. Whereas I’ve acquired many messages of assist, I’ve been deeply saddened by the quantity of abuse and negativity that I’ve acquired on-line concerning my character, my driving, and my profession. Because of the laborious work, assist, and sacrifices of many individuals, I’ve raced in over 140 Grands Prix up to now since my debut in 2016. I’ve all the time been a troublesome competitor, and, like most drivers, I’ve had my share of incidents.
“I’ve been fortunate to race alongside proficient and skilled teammates, together with race winners Daniel [Ricciardo], Checo [Perez] and Pierre [Gasly], and a double champion in Fernando [Alonso]. As teammates, we might typically begin races very shut to one another which in some instances meant some powerful battles on monitor, and generally contact. After all, I’ve made trustworthy errors. We’re not robots; we’re athletes pushing ourselves to the restrict on daily basis to realize our goals of profitable races. F1 is a sport the place feelings run excessive, and passions run deep.
“I see and really feel this each weekend on the monitor and on social media… the nice and the unhealthy. However the misinformed statements and gross distortions that I’ve seen on-line in current days about my potential to work with a group have been inaccurate, hurtful, and damaging. Since my first laps in motorsport, I’ve approached this sport with humility, professionalism, and respect. These values have been instilled in me from a really younger age.
“Whereas every driver chases particular person glory, this can all the time be a group sport initially. I’ve all the time adopted the directions I’ve been given and raced to realize the utmost for and with my group. I took duty for the incident on lap 1 final Sunday and, regardless of my DNF, I’m glad the group added a degree to the tally in what has been a troublesome begin to the season for all of us. I respect Pierre [Gasly] as a teammate and as a competitor. We’ve all the time labored collaboratively and professionally contained in the group, and this can proceed to be the case.
“There isn’t any reward with out threat in Formulation One – and race begins are intense, much more so in Monaco the place the opening lap can dictate your ending consequence. Ultimately, we’re all opponents and laborious, truthful racing all through the sector is what makes our sport so nice and the primary motive why I really like this sport a lot. I’m wanting ahead to competing in Montreal, in entrance of the unbelievable Canadian followers, and to the thrilling alternatives the longer term holds.”
Alpine’s poor begin to 2024 has been nicely documented and there might be widespread adjustments going into 2025, with each Ocon and his teammate, Gasly, out of contract and as race winners they’ll each need to be at a group greater up the grid. This would depart Alpine with fairly the dilemma, though they do have Jack Doohan ready for his probability in F1.