After the Canadian Grand Prix, Ocon felt upset because the team didn’t keep their word. They said if he let Gasly pass to try and overtake Ricciardo, they’d give back his position before the race ended. But they didn’t.
“I’ve done my part of the job – the team hasn’t, honestly,” he said. “It is not fair, on that race. So, I’m very frustrated with how things have been played out. I guess there are a lot of reasons, so we’ll let the benefit of the doubt go on.”
This problem adds to the fallout from the Monaco Grand Prix crash. That crash confirmed Ocon would leave the team at the end of the year. Also, Ocon mentioned he had a heavier car in Canada.
It seems there’s tension between Ocon and the team.
But boss Bruno Famin says the team isn’t trying to hold Ocon back. He promised Ocon would get all the support he needs for the rest of the season.
Famin said, “It has been sorted, but we had 16 and we now 15 races to go now. I think Esteban can count on all the team to help him to get the best result, because Esteban having the best result is helping the team having the best possible result. And we count on Esteban to bring everything he can bring to the team.
“I say it like that, but I should not – because Esteban is part of the team. The team is everybody within the team: driver, mechanic, engineer – everybody has to bring his own to make the best possible result for the team. And the driver is part of the team.”
Famin is clear that Alpine doesn’t want to hurt Ocon’s performance. They need all the points they can get to do well in the constructors’ championship.
“We will not put aside Esteban at all,” he said. “He will have exactly the same condition as Pierre. They are on the same level, same status. We know they are very close in terms of the performance, and it won’t be good to do something different for anybody. Again, it’s team interest: Alpine interest first.”
Famin isn’t worried about Ocon only thinking about himself now that he knows he’s leaving the team. He said, “I don’t worry more than before…”
