Esteban Ocon gives his verdict on the controversial last-lap position swap with Pierre Gasly in Suzuka

Esteban Ocon managed a P9 finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Esteban Ocon gives his verdict on the controversial last-lap position swap with Pierre Gasly in Suzuka

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon (Via IMAGO)

The 2023 Japanese Grand Prix brought a double-point finish for the Alpine F1 team. But what amassed a lot of attention was the team’s decision to swap Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly‘s position on the last lap of the race. The latter was furious with the decision, and while a lot has already been said, Ocon has given his verdict on the controversial situation.

Ocon and Gasly ran immensely strong races in their respective A523s for Alpine at the Suzuka International Race Course, and until the last lap of the race, the latter was leading the former in P9. However, on the last lap, Gasly was asked to slow down to let Ocon pass, and this has led to immense controversy within the Alpine ranks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf8XffP1FMs

Ocon was recently asked to shed light on the whole situation, and while talking about the same, he told Motorsport.com, “I’ve been with this team for four years now and the rule has always been this one, with Daniel [Ricciardo], with Fernando. If one driver swaps position, so in that instance I gave the position to Pierre, he needs to get the position in front, which was Fernando, in order to be keeping that position.”

“Otherwise, you just give the place back to your teammate. That’s always what we’ve done. If I’m on the other side, I will obviously do the same.” The Frenchman has made it clear that he let Gasly pass during the closing laps for him to chase after Fernando Alonso, who was running in P8. But as he could not get the better of the Spaniard, it was very normal from his point of view to swap positions.

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Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have been pretty much neck to neck in 2023

While the Alpine F1 team has found itself in a tricky situation since the Japanese GP, its drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have pretty much matched each other stride for stride this year. As things stand, Gasly has managed 46 points in the season so far, whereas Ocon has put on the board 38 in the same number of outings.

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (Credits: F1)
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (Credits: F1)

However, one thing that needs to be kept in mind is the fact that Ocon has suffered immense misfortune so far in the 2023 F1 season. He has had five DNFs so far, and had he not had such terrible luck, he probably would have been ahead of Gasly in the Drivers standings. This could be one of the reasons why Gasly was extremely frustrated after the Japanese GP.

Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are fierce personalities who have shared a tainted past. Moreover, they are fast-aggressive drivers who would do almost anything to have the bragging right over the other at the end of the campaign. Considering this, there are good chances of seeing things over the boiling point between Ocon and Gasly in the remaining six races.

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