Esteban Ocon: Sergio Perez put my life at risk
Esteban Ocon says Force India teammate Sergio Perez put both their lives at risk in their clash during the Belgian Grand Prix.
Ocon and Perez twice came together on the run to Eau Rouge in the race at Spa. Running three-wide on the exit of La Source on the opening lap, Ocon somehow escaped damage despite making contact with Perez and the support race pit wall.
However, the second clash between the pair gave Ocon front wing damage, while Perez suffered a puncture and dropped down the order before retiring. Ocon managed to continue to salvage ninth place, but the incident led chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer to admit Force India will not allow its drivers to race in future.
"The first incident at the start, I accept," Ocon said in the TV pen after the race. "Even if I think he saw me in the mirror we are three wide, so I accept that one even if he squeezed me into the wall, that's dangerous and not professional.
"But the second one is just one too much. What's the point of doing that? He just squeezed me into the wall, 300kph, risking my life, risking his life for no reason and costing lots of points for the team. He's supposed to be a professional driver, he didn't show it today."
Ocon later told Channel 4: "I'm going to go and speak to him man-to-man and tell him the truth. He's going to have a child. I don't know if he wants to die or something. It's just ridiculous."
Perez accepted responsibility for the first incident, but believes the pair could have avoided a second collision if Ocon had been more patient and waited to make a pass along the Kemmel Straight.
"The first one was 100 percent my fault," he admitted. "I have to accept that one and put my hand up because my mistake came at the start. I selected the start too late and I didn't realise that I didn't have the right mode for the start so I had like 50 percent or less power.
"It was quite messy and when I looked at my mirrors after, everyone was really far behind but when I moved to the right Esteban was just there and I totally didn't see him at all, if I am totally honest.
"The second incident I think Esteban was really optimistic there because there was no room for two cars. He had the whole straight to do the move. It's a shame that we touched because it ruined our race."
The latest clashes come after previous incidents between the team's drivers. A disagreement over team orders in June's Canadian Grand Prix was followed by a collision in the next race in Azerbaijan, with both incidents costing Force India potential podium finishes.
Author: Lewis Larkam
Soource: http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/20475659/esteban-ocon-sergio-perez-put-my-life-risk
Ocon and Perez twice came together on the run to Eau Rouge in the race at Spa. Running three-wide on the exit of La Source on the opening lap, Ocon somehow escaped damage despite making contact with Perez and the support race pit wall.
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| Esteban Ocon. |
"The first incident at the start, I accept," Ocon said in the TV pen after the race. "Even if I think he saw me in the mirror we are three wide, so I accept that one even if he squeezed me into the wall, that's dangerous and not professional.
"But the second one is just one too much. What's the point of doing that? He just squeezed me into the wall, 300kph, risking my life, risking his life for no reason and costing lots of points for the team. He's supposed to be a professional driver, he didn't show it today."
Ocon later told Channel 4: "I'm going to go and speak to him man-to-man and tell him the truth. He's going to have a child. I don't know if he wants to die or something. It's just ridiculous."
Perez accepted responsibility for the first incident, but believes the pair could have avoided a second collision if Ocon had been more patient and waited to make a pass along the Kemmel Straight.
"The first one was 100 percent my fault," he admitted. "I have to accept that one and put my hand up because my mistake came at the start. I selected the start too late and I didn't realise that I didn't have the right mode for the start so I had like 50 percent or less power.
"It was quite messy and when I looked at my mirrors after, everyone was really far behind but when I moved to the right Esteban was just there and I totally didn't see him at all, if I am totally honest.
"The second incident I think Esteban was really optimistic there because there was no room for two cars. He had the whole straight to do the move. It's a shame that we touched because it ruined our race."
The latest clashes come after previous incidents between the team's drivers. A disagreement over team orders in June's Canadian Grand Prix was followed by a collision in the next race in Azerbaijan, with both incidents costing Force India potential podium finishes.
Author: Lewis Larkam
Soource: http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/20475659/esteban-ocon-sergio-perez-put-my-life-risk
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