Alpine finished the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix with two points: Esteban Ocon finished ninth, and Pierre Gasly finished tenth. They were not the center of attention at Suzuka, so most of us must have missed the fact that the two French drivers switched places because their team asked them to.
When Gasly heard the call on the radio, he initially protested angrily, then gave up and let Ocon start at the last possible moment, in the final sector of the final lap. We have yet to find an explanation for the events of the weekend in Singapore: Ocon then let Gasly run during the race, to see if he would have been more successful in passing Fernando Alonso. The idea worked, and the arrangement between the Frenchmen did not change, so Alpine returned this gesture to Ocon.
However, the situation is strange because, as Gasly pointed out, he was the quicker of the two all weekend. “We didn’t talk about this before the competition. It was clear from the strategy that at some point he would pass Esteban underneath me, but my speed was faster and I had to pass him. I passed him on the track on new tyres.”
Pierre Gasly
“They didn’t say we would have to switch places. I started from a better position and I was always at the front. From a team point of view, 10th and 9th or 9th and 10th are the same, but I didn’t expect that and I don’t really understand. I was at the front and we’ll talk about that,” Gasly said. Later”.
“My job behind the wheel is to drive as fast as I can. I give it everything I’ve got. Why should I give a position? Today I put the team before myself, and I always will,” the one-time race winner added.
source: Motorsport.com
Image source(s): Getty Images
