Esteban Ocon has blasted midfield Formula 1 drivers as "suicidal" after his late accident in the Australian Grand Prix. On the fringes of the points positions, Ocon was caught up in the melee at Turns 1 and 2 on the Lap 57 restart, crashing into teammate Pierre Gasly with both Alpines retiring on the spot. The Frenchman was not best pleased with the field at Turn 1, labelling them as "suicidal" as "there's a lot of time to gain."
"My tyres were hot, I didn't feel like it was very slippery but what was tricky was a little bit [the sun] being lower, so we couldn't really see well," he explained to media including RacingNews365. "But some drivers were just suicidal a bit in Turn 1, like Nyck [de Vries] on the inside. "It was very close and obviously there's a lot to gain at the time, but a little bit too much for some drivers." Ocon was mistaken in calling out de Vries as he was further back in the pack, and was taken out at Turn 1 after being rammed by Logan Sargeant. Instead, the sister AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda went up the inside of Ocon, on his way to a 10th place finish and one point.
Ocon backs Gasly
When asked about how he felt after colliding with his teammate, Ocon was sanguine about the impact with Gasly - taking the pressure of his new teammate. "Honestly, it could have been any car I collided with," he said. "There was cars coming back on the track and obviously Pierre was one of them. "[There are] no hard feelings. He came and apologised and I said: 'It could have been anyone.'"
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