F1 News: Alpine Is 'Seriously Considering' Benching Esteban Ocon For Canadian GP

After a disruptive incident at the Monaco Grand Prix, Alpine considers benching Esteban Ocon for the next race.

Oct 22, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; BWT Alpine F1 Team driver Esteban Ocon (31) of Team France is interviewed after the qualifying session for the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Esteban Ocon's aggressive move at the Monaco Grand Prix, causing a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly, might lead to him being sidelined for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix. Alpine's team boss, Bruno Famin, hinted at potential drastic measures to enforce team discipline following the incident.

The collision happened on the opening lap of the Monaco Grand Prix when Ocon attempted an overtly optimistic overtaking maneuver against his teammate Gasly. While Gasly managed to continue the race unscathed, the move drew significant internal criticism for Ocon, especially as the latter was forced to retire with excessive suspension damage.

Alpine's team chief Famin was visibly upset with the mishap, considering it jeopardized the team’s chances at securing valuable points after their best starting position of the season. Famin later expressed his frustration publicly, suggesting that tough decisions would be considered.

Sky Sports' Craig Slater reported following the race:

“Famin spoke angrily. He talked about taking a tough decision which everyone has interpreted as benching Esteban Ocon for the next race in Canada. What I can say to you is that that is still a serious consideration for the Alpine boss Bruno Famin.

“He will do what is best for the team but if he decides that leaving Esteban Ocon out for a week as a demonstration of how team discipline needs to be he is prepared to do that but that decision has yet to be taken.

“There were face to face meetings between Ocon and Famin after the grand prix. Ocon apologised privately and publicly afterwards via social media. Let’s see what happens.”

Amidst this internal strife, there are swirling rumors of Ocon's potential exit from Alpine, with teams like Audi and Haas emerging as likely destinations. This speculation is further intensified by Alpine's lukewarm performance this season, although there have been signs of gradual improvement. Slater added:

“What it does do is to call into question whether Ocon will continue beyond next year. We all cast up the fact he was a childhood rival of the other Alpine driver Pierre Gasly and could the two happily co-exist in the same team? It’s another example of not co-existing happily.

“The other thing is, as far as most observers were concerned it was a needlessly optimistic attempt by Ocon to pass. It could have cost the team any points in the Grand Prix.”