Esteban Ocon upset with Max Verstappen

Esteban Ocon did not appreciate Max Verstappen’s attitude in qualifying. While the two drivers were preparing to start their final fast lap in Q1, they hindered each other. While the Dutchman managed to qualify for the ultimate session without much difficulty, the Frenchman had to retire to the garage permanently.

Esteban Ocon will start from the 16th position on the grid, following Lance Stroll’s penalty.

Disagreement between the two pilots

The inconvenience occurred towards the end of the qualifying session. Esteban Ocon needed to improve his time to advance to Q2. Before starting his final lap, the Normandy driver was following Verstappen. Eager to cross the line at the right moment (before the end of the allocated time), the Alpine driver hurriedly overtook Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, his teammate Pierre Gasly, and then Verstappen just before the start of the lap. This action displeased the three-time World Champion greatly. “« What the hell is that Alpine doing?” » Max Verstappen exclaimed on the radio.

Concerned about being overtaken on the track, Max Verstappen decided to regain his position from Esteban Ocon. In the first corner, the Dutch driver dove inside, forcing the French driver to move aside and causing him to lose valuable tenths of a second. To top it off, the Red Bull driver had deliberately “abandoned” this lap since he had a good enough time to qualify for Q2. When the Alpine driver learned that his time was not sufficient to qualify, he didn’t hold back his frustration on the microphone: “This is a joke, seriously. Verstappen dives like a madman in the first corner.”

Esteban Ocon considers himself unlucky

Esteban Ocon really did not appreciate the move by the Red Bull driver. During his first attempt, he had to deal with a lot of traffic. This last lap represented his only chance and it was compromised by his opponent. The difference between him and me is that I had to do this lap because I had traffic on the first lap, he explained. And if I don’t do the second one, I would be eliminated. He has a lot of pace, so he can afford not to do his second lap. We had to do the lap, we were above the delta. Three cars were queuing, we had to go, otherwise we would be in violation. I had already been penalized in the last race for one of these things. I had no choice, I had to go. The difference between Max and me is that he is third, and I am 17th.

Following his sad qualification, the Normandian driver complained about a cruel lack of luck this season. With retirements due to reliability issues and numerous penalties, his season has been disrupted. “Throughout the season, it seems like I’ve been unlucky,” lamented the 27-year-old driver. “Whether it’s incidents, problems, or anything else, it keeps affecting us. On the first lap, I encountered traffic in the most critical sector and lost time. And then, on the last lap, obviously, we saw what happened. I think the car’s pace seems promising. Hopefully, we can use it tomorrow in the race to climb up through the field.”

Esteban Ocon is currently 12th in the drivers’ standings with a 16-point deficit to his teammate Pierre Gasly.