Alpine is 'seriously considering' dropping Esteban Ocon from the Canadian Grand Prix after he crashed into teammate Pierre Gasly in Monaco, reports suggest.
Charles Leclerc one claimed emotional victory during his home race on Sunday, in what was admittedly a concession very boring Grand Prixexcept three separate collisions on the first lap.
One of these was caused by Ocon when he bravely tried to pick up Gasly in the Portier corner.
The two French drivers made heavy contact, which led to Ocon's car goes airborne and become irreparably damaged.
He retired immediately and was given a five-place grid penalty for the next race, but Gasly was able to continue and finished 10th, securing a crucial point for the struggling French team.
On the radio and after the race, Gasly denounced his teammate's actions, as did team boss Bruno Famin, who angrily stated that there would be 'consequences'.
'Esteban's attack was completely out of sync. It's exactly what we didn't want to see, and there will be consequences,” he told Canal+ while the race was still underway.
'We are going to make a difficult decision. In the first lap at the Portier it was not the place to do anything, so there was no room for his teammate.'
This led to some speculation that Alpine could shockingly fire the 27-year-old mid-season, and while that may be a step too far, Air sports have now reported that Ocon is on the bench for the next race in Montreal in less than two weeks it will be 'seriously considered'.
Adding fuel to the fire, Famin was in Monte Carlo in deep conversation with Alpine's highly regarded reserve driver Jack Doohan.
In any case, Ocon, who won his and Alpine's only Formula 1 race so far in Hungary in 2021, is busy with his future in the sport as his contract expires at the end of this year.
It's in stark contrast to a few months ago when he was touted as a possible replacement for Sir Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, but that possibility has now certainly been ruled out.
“Ocon is a fine and fast driver, but history clearly shows that he has an irrational red fog when it comes to racing, especially against his teammates,” wrote former F1 star Martin Brundle in his Sky Sports column.
'He has previously been heavily criticized by Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso for his aggression and contact within the team, and now also Gasly. It will cost Esteban a lot of money, as no leading team would harbor such a mentality, and perhaps no team at all.
'A driver represents hundreds of hard-working and professional people, and hundreds of millions of pounds in investment and sponsorship when he drives for an F1 team. You simply cannot continue to attack your only teammate with abandon.'
Ocon apologized for the crash on social media, writing: “Today's incident was my fault, the gap was too small in the end and I apologize to the team for this. 'Hoping for a deserved points finish for the team today.'
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