Pierre Gasly was irritated with Alpine’s decision to let Esteban Ocon by on the final lap in Japan.
Pierre Gasly had been racing in ninth position towards the finish of the race – after he had been given the go-signal to pass his teammate. As he tried to put his newer hard tyres to efficient use by chasing down Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin for eighth position.
Nevertheless, it became certain that he was unable to pass Alonso. Alpine required him to let Esteban Ocon pass on the final lap so that they might win the place Pierre Gasly obeyed the instruction and allowed his teammate to pass him at the corner on the final lap, but his onboard camera showed that he was obviously agitated as he waved his hands in the car.
When he gave an interview to the media after the race, his irritation was still apparent. Pierre Gasly, when asked about his reaction to the decision taken by the team, he said “Just a bit frustrated, because we need to swap positions in the last lap.” I don’t really see the necessity for it, and I don’t quite comprehend it, but we will discuss it among ourselves.”
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After being informed of Gasly’s dissatisfaction, Esteban Ocon responded: “Well I’ve been with this team four years and the rule has always been the same, that if you swap the position – initially which I did to Pierre, I gave him the position – if you don’t get the car in front, then you always switch back before the end.
“It was the same with Daniel, it was the same with Fernando. We were doing that if it’s me, if it’s him. If it’s the other way around I would do the same. I always prefer to fight on track, more a bit of an old school way.
“But I understand the team’s point of view, which is to try and get some more points ahead. I think today we maximised what was on the table, and we can be proud of ourselves for the good teamwork.”
After Zandvoort, this was Alpine’s second double-point result in the most recent nine races. Esteban Ocon finished ninth and Pierre Gasly finished tenth, making it Alpine’s second double-point finish overall.
Gasly took one point that was available after starting the race in the 12th position on the grid. He felt that this was a reflection of where Alpine is at the present time.