Esteban Ocon accepted the blame for the first-lap collision between the two Alpine drivers which infuriated team principal Bruno Famin.
The two Alpines collided at Portier on the first lap as Ocon tried to pass Pierre Gasly. The contact launched Ocon’s car into the air, causing damage which put him out of the race. Gasly was able to continue.
Famin held Ocon responsible for the collision. “This kind of incident is quite sad,” he told Canal Plus.
He said “Esteban’s attack” on Gasly was “exactly what we did not want to see and we will draw the consequences.” Famin said the team will make a rapid decision on what those consequences are to be.
Ocon later issued a statement on social media admitting “today’s incident was my fault, the gap was too small in the end and I apologise to the team on this one.”
“Hoping for a deserved points finish for the team today,” he added, as Gasly circulated in the top 10 during the race.
The stewards also ruled Ocon to blame and issued a 10-second time penalty, which following his retirement was converted to a five-place grid drop for the next race.
“It was clear to us that the collision was caused solely by the overly ambitious overtaking attempt, from too far back, by car 31 [Ocon] 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 five grid positions for the next race in which the driver participates.”
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