Ocon frustrated with his time penalty at Monza
A frustrating race for Ocon. The Frenchman received a five-second penalty at Monza, depriving him of a better place in the final standings. He does not agree with this decision and even compares it to the Leclerc-Hamilton situation in 2019.
The Italian Grand Prix did not go as planned for Alpine. Finishing only eighth and tenth, the French team had hoped for better throughout the weekend. Fortunately for them, their direct competitors did not shine during Sunday’s race.
During this famous race, Esteban Ocon received a five-second penalty for colliding with Sebastian Vettel. He served his penalty during his only pit stop, and this penalty prevented the Frenchman from finishing higher than tenth place. This situation is reminiscent of the one between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in 2019, where no action was taken. At that time, Leclerc had simply received a warning and ended up winning the race. After the race, Ocon was frustrated with his penalty and defined the situation as a racing move and not an incident.
« The incident with Vettel is a racing action, it’s not really a racing incident. The same thing happened between Charles and Lewis in 2019 and no action was taken. We had no damage on the car. Nothing really happened. It made me lose three good positions. It’s a bit frustrating. »
On the 15th lap, the two drivers were side by side, but the track was narrowing at the braking point. Vettel was then pushed slightly off the track, leading to a penalty for Ocon. Motorsport asked Michael Masi, the race director, why Ocon’s incident was treated differently compared to the similar situation between Leclerc and Hamilton. He stated that at the end of the 2019 race, the sports commissioners agreed that a time penalty would have been a better decision than warnings.
« The incidents are similar, but not the same. After the one in 2019, we had a complete discussion with all the pilots, team managers, and sports officials. It was somewhat considered in this situation that a five-second penalty would probably have been better than a black and white flag. »
Despite the penalty, the French driver still finished in the points with a respectable tenth place. A decent performance, even though he lacked pace throughout the weekend in Monza.
This race does not reflect the work we did this weekend. It was a tough weekend in terms of pace for us, but I think 7th or 6th place would have been possible. It’s a bit frustrating with the incidents that happened on the track. We can still extract more from what the car is capable of doing. Even if they are small points, it’s important to us.
