Esteban Ocon attacks Alpine over team radio after request rejected at Canadian GP

Esteban Ocon was left furious on the team radio in the aftermath of the Canadian Grand Prix after the Alpine team refused to return the favour and give Pierre Gasly team orders to let his colleague and rival through on the final lap.

Earlier in the closing stages, Ocon let Gasly through to attack the VCARB of Daniel Ricciardo. Unfortunately for Alpine, he was unable to find a way through and when the under-fire Frenchman asked for the positions to be swapped before the chequered flag, they refused.

This caused Ocon to react with fury. The 27-year-old shouted “forget it” over the radio, adding: “No comment. I am too nice, too nice. I've done what I had to do, which is the most important. But you guys didn't do what you had to do. That's it."

Ocon was still extremely frustrated in his post-race interviews too, labelling the switch as pointless and rueing a missed opportunity to get an extra point to his name as he attempts to impress other team principals in the hunt for a full-time drive in F1 for 2025.

“Not the happiest, to be honest,” he said. “Obviously, we started last and got into the points with both cars, which is amazing for the team. But I did my part of the job, being a team player – being a nice guy. Too nice, I am. We had to let Pierre go at the end, which I’ve done. I have always followed the instructions I was given.

“But for no reason, really. We were not going to catch Daniel – that was the reason for the call. And obviously, I’m losing a point there. Being too nice is not the right attitude to have in Formula One. But I showed that I’m a team player, and that’s what matters.”

For Ocon, impressing over the course of the next few races is critical. His departure from Alpine has already been confirmed after a clash with Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago left team principal Bruno Famin fuming, and now he faces a tough battle to secure a place on the grid next year.

The Evreux-born racer is a known target for Haas as Kevin Magnussen’s future continues to look bleak, but with experienced heads such as Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz also on the market, demonstrating his credentials as a team player could be critical for Ocon to keep his F1 career alive.