A Formula 1 racer accused the FIA of "favouritism" after he was slapped with a penalty for making contact with Lewis Hamilton.
Esteban Ocon was punished by race stewards at the Monaco Grand Prix for an incident which also involved the seven-time world champion. It came at a point during the race at which the track was in transition, drying out after earlier rain and causing some drivers to change tyres.
The Frenchman was still running with full wets on his Alpine when he was targeted by Hamilton for an overtake. The Mercedes man, who had pitted for intermediates, tried to go down the inside at Sainte Devote but had the door slammed closed. The pair made contact, but both were able to carry on unscathed.
After a brief investigation, the stewards decided Ocon had turned in on the Briton and was given a five-second penalty. It proved to be costly – although he crossed the finish line ninth, he was classified outside the points by the time the punishment had been applied.
While it was not aired live like other radio messages, Ocon responded to learning about the penalty with an angry retort to his race engineer in which he suggested officials had been unfair in awarding the punishment. "It's a joke, guys. It is a joke," he shouted over the airwaves. "They can't take the result away like that. This is favouritism! He crashed into me, and then I get the penalty. What is this? We can't see in the mirrors here?"
Asked about the incident and penalty after the race, he added: "They said that if it was last year, it would have been a racing incident – this year it is not a racing incident. Apparently [the Grand Prix Drivers' Association] agreed that as soon as there is a front wing next to a tyre, there should be space. But I don’t remember when this has been agreed."
Once Alpine had learned of the penalty, they instructed team-mate Fernando Alonso to push in the hope that Ocon would be able to open up enough of a gap to those behind him that he would not lose any positions. The Spaniard obliged and left Hamilton trailing in his wake, but the Mercedes racer either could not or would not pick up the pace and Ocon could not overtake on the tight track.
As a result, he was bumped down from ninth to 12th, missing out on two more championship points. Still, Ocon sits ninth in the drivers' championship standings with 30 points – 20 ahead of Alonso. It was only the second time this year that he has failed to score points, and will hope to return to the top 10 in Baku to continue his consistent form.
