Esteban Ocon says Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly has apologised for the pair’s collision in direction of the tip of a wild Australian Grand Prix; crash takes each drivers out of the factors in a race gained by Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen; Gasly “gutted” after discovering himself in a “shocking” P5 spot

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Karun Chandhok analyses the onboard view as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided on the finish of the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park

Esteban Ocon says there are “no exhausting emotions” between himself and Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly after his fellow Frenchman apologised for inflicting their collision at a wild Australian Grand Prix.

Gasly and Ocon crashed on the penultimate restart of a race that featured three pink flags and subsequently retired having been fifth and tenth respectively earlier than the incident.

The drivers have mentioned up to now that they don’t seem to be the very best of associates following a rivalry of their youthful racing days however Ocon insists their smash at Albert Park will rapidly be forgotten.

“After the chaotic restart it might have been anybody I collided with – numerous automobiles had been going off,” mentioned Ocon.

A view of Ocon’s smashed automobile after the collision with Alpine team-mate Gasly

“It ended up being Pierre not leaving me a lot house however no exhausting emotions. He got here and apologised and, as I say, it might have been anybody.”

Gasly added: “I’m extraordinarily upset with the end result of the race. I can not consider what has occurred in the long run. I do not even wish to touch upon the tip. I’m gutted.”

Gasly and Ocon’s collision prevented Alpine from including to the eight factors that they had accrued throughout the Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with Gasly significantly upset after discovering himself in a “surprisingly” excessive spot.

The 27-year-old mentioned: “I did not count on to be in such a place so operating in P5 was a pleasant shock. I gave all the pieces on the market, I used to be racing with the Ferrari, had (Fernando) Alonso in my sights for almost all of the race.

I don’t assume Esteban can take any blame. He was minding his personal enterprise. It was as much as Pierre to present him room. Pierre knew he didn’t give him room and apologised.

Sky Sports activities F1’s Karun Chandhok

“I used to be just about within the gearbox of Carlos (Sainz) for a lot of laps, catching Fernando some laps. They picked up some tempo in direction of the tip.

“However all in all I do not really feel like we’ve missed a lot to be preventing with them correctly. I felt comfy with the automobile which is sweet going ahead.”

Ocon added: “It was a tough weekend. Nothing actually clicked in our route. Issues that had been out of our management, actually. The pink flag killed our technique. We had been fourth or fifth in all probability with out that.

“This can be very irritating as a result of we had good tempo – just like the Aston Martins and Ferrari – and will have been a lot additional up.”

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The Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly returned to the identical karting observe they grew up racing collectively in Normandy.

What’s subsequent?

As a result of cancellation of the Chinese language Grand Prix, there may be now a four-week break till the 2023 Components 1 season resumes with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku’s beautiful avenue circuit.

The motion is all dwell on Sky Sports activities F1 from April 28-30, with Sunday’s race at 12pm.

Between every now and then, we might be bringing you all the newest F1 information by way of the Sky Sports activities app and web site.