Helmut Marko Sounds Off on Alpine’s “Problem” Amid Ocon-Gasly Drama at Monaco GP

Helmut Marko pinpoints an issue with Alpine as he comments on the conflict involving Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly

Helmut Marko from Red Bull shares his perspective on the altercation between Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly during the Monaco event.

Helmut Marko, a motorsport consultant for Red Bull, thinks Alpine is dealing with an issue after Esteban Ocon crashed into his team member Pierre Gasly during the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.

Ocon collided wheel-to-wheel with Gasly, launching into the air as he made a bold dive on his Alpine teammate on the inside at Portier during the first lap of Sunday's race.

Gasly managed to come out unscathed and secured a point by finishing 10th, whereas Ocon's race came to an early end. The French driver received a five-spot grid penalty for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix and faced criticism from Alpine's chief Bruno Famin, who hinted at potential repercussions for the mishap.

Speculation is mounting that Alpine might replace Ocon for the upcoming race, as Sky Sports F1 has reported that this move is being "seriously contemplated."

Ocon has experienced a tumultuous history with Gasly, marking yet another instance of his contentious interactions with fellow drivers. Previously, he had confrontations with Sergio Perez during their time at Force India/Racing Point, as well as with Fernando Alonso at Alpine.

Drawing from his time at Red Bull, Marko believes that Alpine will face challenges in easing the strain between the two French drivers.

"In his column for Speedweek, Marko mentioned that there have been two instances at Red Bull Racing where teammates interfered with each other’s performance. This happened first in 2018 during the Baku race with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, and earlier in 2010 in Turkey with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel."

"In each instance, we called both drivers into the office and had an open discussion with them, emphasizing that crashing into team members is strictly intolerable.

Following the conclusion of the season, Ricciardo departed from the team, and thereafter, there were no further occurrences involving Webber; they acknowledged that such behavior was intolerable.

Implementing actions in this scenario is challenging due to the requirement of demonstrating definitive intention, which isn't present. The driver claims to have miscalculated the situation, thereby negating any deliberate intent.

"The issue with Alpine, though, is its recurrence, which I believe exacerbates the situation."

Gasly expressed his frustration towards Ocon following the event, stating, "Regrettably, the situation did not unfold as calmly as we had hoped. I prefer not to delve into specifics, but such incidents shouldn't occur.

The team had given explicit directions regarding our actions and expectations, which Ocon unfortunately did not adhere to.

"I'm relieved we escaped with just a bit of damage to the front wing and a few other minor issues, and fortunately, the red flag allowed us to fix it."

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