Shop
Esteban Ocon was an opening lap retirement after clashing with his team-mate, Pierre Gasly, midway around the opening tour.
The pair made contact exiting Portier just seconds before the red flag was thrown for an incident between Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, and Nico Hulkenberg half a lap earlier.
Ocon had attempted to move up the inside of his team-mate at the right-hander which feeds cars into the tunnel, only to clout Gasly’s wheel.
It sent Ocon’s car skywards, landing with enough force to break the rear suspension and gearbox, ending his race.
“It’s an unfortunate incident,” he said of the clash, for which officials handed him a 10-second penalty, converted into a grid drop for the next race.
“Obviously not good to be retiring the car after a long race after that.
“We basically tried to put the car back in the garage to try and repair.
“Unfortunately there was too much damage sustained, and we were not able to go back again.”
Gasly wasted no time in laying the blame for the clash at the feet of his team-mate when speaking about the incident post-race.
“I was quite shocked and it was very unnecessary,” he said.
“We should never have such a situation, especially between team-mates.
“I’m just sad, disappointed with the situation, and especially [because] we had clear instructions before the race on what to do.
“Whoever qualified ahead, the trailing car was supposed to help throughout the race with the strategy, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.
“We definitely need to speak because we can’t afford, especially on a season like that, a point or two that might be crucial at the end of the year.
“We’ve just got to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Following a difficult start to the year, Alpine looked to have turned a corner of sorts after Gasly banked the team’s first Q3 appearance of the season on Saturday.
The team has introduced upgrades that have addressed its early season weight issues and done much to propel it back into the midfield.
With Gasly starting 10th and Ocon 11th, they both ran inside the points at the time of the clash after Carlos Sainz pulled up with a puncture.
“It’s sad to see this kind of incident,” Famin told French television.
“It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see. Esteban’s attack was totally out of circumstances. It was exactly what we didn’t want to see and we’re going to draw the consequences.
“If we were fighting for a podium finish at the end of the race, why not, and still,” he added.
“But there, on the first lap, at Le Portier, frankly, it wasn’t the place to make an attack, leaving zero room for his team-mate.”
Having investigated the incident, officials deemed Ocon was in the wrong and dished out a penalty he’ll carry with him to the Canadian Grand Prix.
“The Stewards reviewed video and in-car video evidence and determined that Car 31 attempted to overtake Car 10 at Turn 8,” they reported.
“The attempt resulted in the cars coming together, Car 31 being flung into the air and damaging the car.
“As the race was red flagged shortly thereafter, the cars returned to the pits and Car 31 retired.
“It was clear to us that the collision was caused solely by the overly ambitious overtaking attempt, from too far back, by Car 31 and was therefore wholly to blame for the incident.
“The baseline penalty for causing a collision in this season is a 10 second time penalty.
“This is what we imposed on Car 31. However, given that Car 31 did not finish the race, it will be converted to a drop of 5 grid positions for the next race in which the driver participates.”
Alpine is in a curious state, with Ocon not expected to remain with the operation next season.
Rumours suggest even Pierre Gasly could be on the move, creating an environment where both drivers – hardly the best of friends in normal circumstances – are seemingly incentivised to get one over on their counterpart.
Meanwhile, reserve Jack Doohan waits in the wings, his contribution being positively acknowledged by both Gasly and Famin on Saturday.
