Esteban Ocon has defended his driving following criticism over the first-lap collision with his team mate which put him out of the last race.
The two Alpine drivers tangled at Portier on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix when Ocon tried to overtake Pierre Gasly. While Gasly was able to continue and scored a point in the race, Ocon retired.Ocon said he had been “deeply saddened by the amount of abuse and negativity that I have received online regarding my character, my driving, and my career” since the crash on Sunday.
He said he has “always been a tough competitor” and “like most drivers, I’ve had my share of incidents.” However he rejected claims he has a tendency to collide with his team mates.
“I have been lucky to race alongside talented and experienced team mates, including race winners Daniel [Ricciardo], Checo [Perez] and Pierre [Gasly], and a double champion in Fernando [Alonso]. As team mates, we would often start races very close to each other which in some cases meant some tough battles on track, and sometimes contact.”
Alpine team principal Bruno Famin held Ocon responsible for the collision when he spoke during the race and said there would be “consequence” for it. Ocon accepted he has “made honest mistakes” at times.
“We are not robots,” said Ocon. “We are athletes pushing ourselves to the limit every day to achieve our dreams of winning races. F1 is a sport where emotions run high and passions run deep. I see and feel this every weekend at the track and on social media… the good and the bad.
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“But the misinformed statements and gross distortions that I have seen online in recent days about my ability to work with a team have been inaccurate, hurtful, and damaging.”
Ocon stressed that, while he accepted the blame for the collision, he has “always followed the instructions I have been given and raced to achieve the maximum for and with my team.”
“I took responsibility for the incident on lap one last Sunday and, despite my DNF [did not finish], I am glad the team added a point to the tally in what has been a difficult start to the season for all of us,” he added. “I respect Pierre as a team mate and as a competitor. We have always worked collaboratively and professionally inside the team, and this will continue to be the case.”
“There is no reward without risk in Formula 1 – and race starts are intense, even more so in Monaco where the opening lap can dictate your finishing result,” he added. “In the end, we are all competitors and hard, fair racing throughout the field is what makes our sport so great and the main reason why I love this sport so much.
“I’m looking forward to competing in Montreal, in front of the fantastic Canadian fans, and to the exciting opportunities the future holds.”
Ocon’s full statement on his Monaco Grand Prix collision
Much has been said in the aftermath of the Monaco Grand Prix. While I have received many messages of support, I have been deeply saddened by the amount of abuse and negativity that I have received online regarding my character, my driving, and my career.
Thanks to the hard work, support, and sacrifice of many people, I’ve raced in over 140 grands prix so far since my debut in 2016. I have always been a tough competitor, and, like most drivers, I’ve had my share of incidents.
I have been lucky to race alongside talented and experienced team mates, including race winners Daniel, Checo and Pierre, and a double champion in Fernando. As team mates, we would often start races very close to each other which in some cases meant some tough battles on track, and sometimes contact.
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Of course, I have made honest mistakes. We are not robots; we are athletes pushing ourselves to the limit every day to achieve our dreams of winning races. F1 is a sport where emotions run high and passions run deep. I see and feel this every weekend at the track and on social media… the good and the bad.
But the misinformed statements and gross distortions that I have seen online in recent days about my ability to work with a team have been inaccurate, hurtful, and damaging.
Since my first laps in motorsport, I have approached this sport with humility, professionalism, and respect. These values were instilled in me from a very young age. While each driver chases individual glory, this will always be a team sport first and foremost. I have always followed the instructions I have been given and raced to achieve the maximum for and with my team.
I took responsibility for the incident on lap one last Sunday and, despite my DNF, I am glad the team added a point to the tally in what has been a difficult start to the season for all of us. I respect Pierre as a team mate and as a competitor. We have always worked collaboratively and professionally inside the team, and this will continue to be the case.
There is no reward without risk in Formula 1 – and race starts are intense, even more so in Monaco where the opening lap can dictate your finishing result. In the end, we are all competitors and hard, fair racing throughout the field is what makes our sport so great and the main reason why I love this sport so much.
I’m looking forward to competing in Montreal, in front of the fantastic Canadian fans, and to the exciting opportunities the future holds.
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2024 Monaco Grand Prix
- Formula 1 will fix red flag rule loophole which ruined Monaco GP – Domenicali
- Magnussen ‘could have backed off but didn’t’ in Monaco crash, says team boss
- Ocon defends his driving after ‘hurtful abuse’ over Monaco GP crash with Gasly
- How the midfield’s hottest team mate rivalry boiled over
- “He’s really dangerous”: Unheard driver radio from F1’s slow show in Monaco
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
31st May 2024, 18:21
Okay, thanks for letting us know Esteban, I guess?
Honestly, no idea what this statement is supposed to accomplish. Does he expect the Twitter fiends to not post messages about him? Why are you reading them anyways? Instead of getting a PR person to draft up a statement just further encouraging them to take aim at you, you should have just hired a social media person and gotten off of social media yourself. Ask Max who he’s using and be done with it? That’s what I would’ve done.
PacificPR (@streydt)
1st June 2024, 7:49
Indeed. The whole statement has a bit of a Calimero vibe to it. Which isn’t the best way to get more sympathy.
MacLeod (@macleod)
3rd June 2024, 8:23
Do people knows about Calimero? (They are big and i am so small…) I thought it was a Dutch cartoon.
Ocon I found personally rather above average as he always was in the best teams (Pre F1) Seeing him racing in F3 against Max this was very clear to everyone watching (Ocon in Prema F3 topteam with Mercedes engine vs Max in van Amersfoort RCT midfieldteam with Volkswagen engine. Max Dnf were quit a lot compaired with Ocon.
That is why all F1 teams were trying to get Max and Ocon had to go to F2…..
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
31st May 2024, 18:32
One of the few back markers that actually believes he can win. And everyone hates on him for it. If you want to understand ‘classism’ or the ‘classist’ mindset, he is the case study in F1. Hamilton use to get a lot of hate too, still does, why, because he still believes in himself, not absorbed by the machine.
Josh
31st May 2024, 21:26
What nonsense.
He’s getting grief for making stupid moves that nearly wipe out all of the teams work in one go. Not for ‘thinking he can win’.
But sure, believe something you made up yourself if you like…
Phoebe Cambell
1st June 2024, 3:59
I don’t know… I can see what pcxmac is getting at. Guys like Senna would’ve been seen as ‘ambitious’ in the same situation as we saw with Ocon. I’m not sure why. Maybe there’s less for risking and failing these days. Anyways, instead of dismissing it as nonsense, isn’t it worth considering a different point of view, agree or no?
Xavi
1st June 2024, 16:27
Perez, Alonso, and virtually every teammate who has partnered with Ocon have found themselves validated by history. It’s evident that Ocon tends to let his temper get the best of him, often placing the car in precarious situations or making ill-advised moves. While I am well in favor of aggression and dynamic drivers, there’s a fine line between assertiveness and recklessness, and Ocon frequently crosses into the latter territory…. like 99.9% of the time.
Crashing or defending against your teammate like a maniac but parking your car at the track to let other teams pass you will not help your case at all. (Botas says hi!)
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
1st June 2024, 17:48
Alonso doesn’t like to lose. I really doubt he wastes time not liking people, from what I gather in interviews, the dude has god like focus and measures everything out. If he doesn’t like Ocon, its because Ocon is a hard competitor, not unlike the Lewis v. Alonso rivalry.
Having worked with mediocre people, I can attest, mediocre people do not want someone who stands out, they need people who follow orders so they can look like they are in control.
Mayrton
1st June 2024, 17:04
It is way more likely they get dislike for being non likeable characters. All F1 drivers want to win (as all F2, F3 etc..), what you see here is feedback from the audience on their behavior and statements, not on their desire nor ambition.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
1st June 2024, 17:50
I suspect the qualities that people liken themselves too, are inherent in their own value systems, which can include class/status. I have just seen so many haters, who can’t stand people breaking the status quo, especially on uk forums and the like. Although I have to say, its something of a pandemic these days.
Jere (@jerejj)
31st May 2024, 18:39
What’s to defend in that particular collision, though?
He was too far back to realistically get past without contact, which he should’ve realized before committing to the attempt, especially given Gasly had to start turning eventually anyway.
Professional racing drivers should be able to tell when they can realistically achieve a clean overtaking move & when not, & back off in the latter scenario rather than force themselves ahead at all costs.
I can understand how he feels about the online abuse, although some of it is definitely accurate.
Dex
31st May 2024, 18:51
Not the most intelligent driver in F1, never learning from his mistakes, never even admitting his (obvious) mistakes. As a matter of fact, many of those mistakes aren’t even mistakes, but calculated moves. He’s not the only dirty driver in F1, most are under the right circumstances, but he’s almost always dirty to his own detriment, usually crashing out (and taking his team mates with him, to make things worse).
Playing the poverty card doesn’t make him any cuter. After all, poverty is a relative term. He was too poor to buy a seat in F1 and had to earn it (respect for the fact that he did). He wasn’t poor relative to 95% of people in France, and better off than 99% of people in the world. If I were him I’d try to present myself as a less of an irritating person and try to build better working relationships, and also try to figure better excuses for when I beep things up. “It wasn’t me, it was Santa Clause” doesn’t cut it.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
31st May 2024, 19:11
No self awareness. The incident happened on video. We all saw it. His teammate wasn’t happy and his team is threatening consequences. Neither of those were influenced by social media. He needs to improve his driving skills if he wants to stay employed. There are many more talented drivers waiting for a chance and an endless supply of drivers that can crash just as well as he can.
mars
31st May 2024, 19:18
There is nothing in his defense that would alleviate why he made a stupid (or let’s say very optimistic and selfish) move against his teammate. He had just idly repeated stereotyped statements that everyone already knew.
Tristan
31st May 2024, 21:51
The word “damaging” in there is interesting. Everyone is thinking this is aimed at twitter trolls, but this:
Could very well be a warning shot to some press.
Given how much money is involved in F1 and the value of a drivers contract, some of the more sensational outlets could end up in a spot of bother one day.
I can’t think of any other reason to use such language. Damaging is pretty much reserved for that purpose when referring to one’s character.
Eric R.
1st June 2024, 2:04
Ocon is less irritating than Stroll. I can’t belive the thin skin on this guy.
dragoll (@dragoll)
1st June 2024, 5:53
As others have said, his statement is strange. He making no apologies, but does say “I took responsibility for the incident on lap one last Sunday” like it was suppose to be some sort of apology. From my point of view, majority of the teammate collisions over the past decade have been involving Esteban and his teammate at the time. The incidents against Perez in Spa and Singapore come to mind, he also tangled with Gasly last year. While all the incidents aren’t solely 100% him to blame, just like Magnussen, he does find himself involved. At what point do you have to say, maybe there is something I can do to avoid this situations?
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
1st June 2024, 7:32
@dragoll
He does indeed find himself in these situations a lot, but several of those incidents with Perez were very clearly Perez’s fault. There was also an occasion when Alonso was furious with him in a sprint in Brazil when Alonso was 100% at fault for driving into the back of him and breaking his own front wing.
The very interesting thing is that a few years back, Ocon was the only driver driver alongside Bottas that went over 12 months without any penalty points at all, implying that if he was involved in incidents, he clearly wasn’t at fault. I don’t think his history is as bad as some are implying based on this.
Ross (@dejavous)
1st June 2024, 10:38
This.
When he was teammates with Perez, more often than not it was Checo not leaving enough space when they were together on track.
Ocon is fast but the problem as I see it, is that he believes he is Verstappen level whilst realistically being Checo level. His percentages are at the opposite end of the scale compared to the great drivers. Nothing wrong with total self belief, but needs to be tempered with some reality.
bosyber (@bosyber)
1st June 2024, 11:05
Thanks Ben Rowe @thegianthogweed and Ross @dejavous, I agree with both of you on that analysis. Notable that many of his clashes are with teammates that also feel like they need to prove themselves (Gasly also very much), or otherwise champions that feel they should get more deference, like Alonso. He isn’t at their level, but believes he should be able to, and they ignore that, while others maybe just look at what’s the situation on track and how they deal with that best.
Christian Vidal Leon
2nd June 2024, 5:28
PER has only had incidents with one teammate, OCO with three …
Only Facts!
1st June 2024, 7:08
I guess what’s behind the comments, excessive or not, it’s the pattern.
Not my fault, just racing, and so on.
Writing a letter stating that you were lucky to be able to bang wheels, and even take out, some of the best drivers out there.
Incidents with Perez, Verstappen, Alonso, Gasly…
Jungle
1st June 2024, 8:01
He has developed a reputation for “not playing nice.” KMag too…
BLS (@brightlampshade)
1st June 2024, 8:04
Ocon takes “first you have to beat your team mate” a bit too literally.
He will do anything to keep a team mate behind him, even if it means letting a competitor’s car past. He’s lucky his team mate knows crashing into team mates is bad otherwise he would have had a lot more crashes. Look at how he used to treat Alonso!
ludewig
1st June 2024, 12:01
Ocon following the playbook of a certain political movement. When you get a ton of legitimate criticism, ignore those, and then play the victim by pointing to abusive comments. Doesn’t even matter how many of those there even were compared to the non-abusive comments and you can even make up abusive comments since the media is not going to check anyway.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
1st June 2024, 12:38
Abusive comments aside (which are expected on the internet… people vent that way, it’s horrible, but it’s what it is), no sympathy.
I mean, it’s not the first time. So don’t come up playing “we’re all on the limit” here. How many drivers on the grid would be that daft against:
1) a team mate,
2) on the first lap,
3) in Monaco,
4) at THAT corner
5) when a very rare point scoring opoortunity for the team is knocking on the door?
Look, they all make mistakes, but this isn’t a rare occurance from Ocon. So no reason to play the victim.
I really believe Ocon was told as a kid “your first rival is your team mate” and he took it literally from that day forward…
MichaelN
1st June 2024, 15:24
Yeah, it’s the combination of those circumstances that drew criticism. As true as it is that a driver needs to beat their teammate, that comes with the clear instruction not to hit them. Always.
And if you’re driving in backmarker team with a decent enough qualifying result in Monaco, the absolute last thing to do is risk it all on a lap one lunge. Had he done this whilst in P11 on the penultimate lap, against an Albon or Stroll… people wouldn’t have been nearly as negative about it.
Konstantinos
1st June 2024, 13:15
Abuse is never excusable so I understand his point in that. The fact that he implies that his incidents happen because he starts alongside race winners on the other hand is bizzare… giving himself a compliment in all this is just so tone deaf, I don’t get it.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
1st June 2024, 14:50
Ocon, that isn’t cute anymore.
Mayrton
1st June 2024, 17:07
It is time to part from F1. He is done. I am sure he can make a living driving some other category. Some guys are just like this. While it might be entertaining it is also a liability safety wise
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
1st June 2024, 17:52
at least didn’t make it a habit of running people off the track before his car inherited god like ability to gap the field.
sam
1st June 2024, 19:44
Come on, Max wasn’t that bad.
Mayrton
2nd June 2024, 8:16
I think it is a reference to Lewis to be honest. I remember Lauda stating Lewis would end up seriously hurting another driver and himself. In Lewis’ defence his behaviour in that stage of his career is also seen at many other drivers at the beginning of their F1 career, it’s a learning curve. And as to lucking into a car that won 8 straight years, a complete regulatory period.. well he did get asked and not others and he made the choice to go for it, so he also partly created that luck himself.
Nick T.
3rd June 2024, 16:41
Max was pretty bad in terms of unfair defense during his early years at RB. I do think he was talking about Max because I’m pretty sure PXRUNDMC is an LH fan.
Urvaksh (@thedoctor03)
1st June 2024, 19:53
Obtuse. Conman. Ocon, for short.
Nick T.
3rd June 2024, 16:39
You can be a selfish driver without racing teammates the way you’ve always raced them, Esteban…
One only needs to look at how many times he’s been willing to lose places as long it keeps his teammate behind to know Esteban does not work well as a teammate. It made me chuckle to see him say “this will always be a team sport first and foremost.” We know it’s not and he knows it’s not, which is why he has always been obsessed with beating his teammate, but to the point where he’ll do himself more damage than good even if he does end up ahead in the team battle.
Ocon’s history has not been distorted at all. It’s extremely easy to find all the times he’s clashed with teammates, blocked them at the expense of the team’s and even his result and just generally been unwilling to accept blame or simply say nothing if he cannot the blame.