“It Was a Complete Mess”: Alpine Blamed for Putting Esteban Ocon & Co. In Tough Position as Nightmarish Run Refuses to End

Alpine seems to be going through a string of unfortunate events that could be aptly described as a series of bad luck. During the race, both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly had decent starts from the grid, with Gasly making a daring move around the outside of Turn 1. However, their promising positions took a turn for the worse when Zhou collided with Daniel Ricciardo, inadvertently causing the two Alpines to suffer collateral damage. While it was somewhat expected for Ricciardo to hit Ocon, the fact that Gasly’s car also tagged his own teammate was just a stroke of bad luck and poor timing.

Peter Windsor suggests that the team might be accident-prone, especially when starting from certain grid positions, which could lead to collisions during races. Windsor emphasizes the importance of strategic changes to avoid such mishaps. Before the Austria Grand Prix, Alpine had 44 points, while McLaren had 17 points. But three races later, the gap widened to 87 points for Alpine and 47 for McLaren, which must have been a painful blow.

“I suppose what you’ve got to say about Alpine, you know, if you want to have your two cars reasonably accident-free, as this thing from accident-prone, you’ve got to get them, either they were on the grid, so it was a complete mess from their point of view. If you start where they start, inevitably there are going to be shunts, aren’t there?”

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Additionally, after the incident, Ocon received medical treatment from his physio due to the impact causing damage to his seat.

The aftermath of the dual Alpine DNFs

Zhou’s car clipped the back of Gasly’s A523 during the first lap, causing Gasly to collide with his teammate Ocon. The stewards penalized Zhou with a five-second penalty for his role in the collision. However, the damage to the Alpine F1 cars was so severe that continuing the race was impossible.

As a result of the collision, Ocon’s seat split into two, necessitating a medical examination at the center. Although there were no official updates, it is presumed that Ocon suffered no major injuries, but might have been shaken by the intense crash.

In response to the situation, boss Otmar Szafnauer explained that there was a chain reaction of one car hitting another, leading to their two cars colliding unavoidably. It’s undoubtedly a bitter and tough moment for the team, but they must keep their spirits up and work towards bouncing back.

This unfortunate event resulted in a slip to sixth position in the constructors’ standings, while McLaren advanced to fifth. The performance of McLaren cars suggests a widening gap between the two teams and it remains to be seen if Alpine can bounce back.

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