Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen made his frustrations clear after missing out on pole position in Las Vegas, with Esteban Ocon feeling the force of his anger.
Fresh footage from the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit has shown Esteban Ocon overtaking Max Verstappen moments before the run-in which ruined both drivers’ hot laps in Q1.
Verstappen might have already clinched a successful title defence, but he’s still keen to add more race victories before the end of 2023. His hopes of doing so in Nevada have suffered a little, though, as he was only able to qualify third behind the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
A frustrating day began in the first qualifying session, though, with the champ shouting “What a stupid idiot!
” over team radio. However, these comments only tell part of the story.
The footage shared on social media begins seconds before the Turn 1 crash that upset Verstappen. The Dutchman had been criticized by some for almost causing an accident while trying to overtake Ocon, but new footage has intensified the debate.
“What was Ocon thinking when he overtook Max at the final corner?” asked one social media user. But another said: “Totally irrelevant.” Ocon was in the lead when he started the lap.
“Realistically, Max was in the next session, but Ocon needed this lap,” argued a third. “Both drivers were at fault, but only one was affected.”
Verstappen broke through despite being in Q2, and Sainz was given a grid penalty, forcing him to start second. However, Ocon’s chances were hurt by confusion on the final lap of Q1, and he will start the race from 16th place.
For now, Mr. Ocon described the situation as a “joke.” The Alpine driver was then asked about his efforts in qualifying, and claimed he had no choice as he encountered traffic early in the session.
“The difference between me and him is that I have to do that lap because I had traffic in that first lap,” Ocon said, as reported by RaceFans. “So I lost some time on that first lap.. And if I don’t do the second one, I’m out. He has plenty of pace so he can afford not to do his second lap.
“But we were not respecting the delta so we have to go, for the lap. We were in the delta area and there were 3 cars in line but we had to go. It would be illegal for us and we were already penalized for one of these actions in the last race, so it shouldn’t happen again. I had no choice and had to leave.
“That’s it. The difference between me and Max is that Max is 3rd and I’m 17th.”
Ocon’s poor starting position made it difficult for him to score his fifth point in six races. It will continue, He finished in consecutive 10th places, with his only podium of the season coming in Monaco in May.
Leave a Reply