Esteban Ocon says some errant equipment from the AlphaTauri pit box was to blame for his unsafe release in Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. As he pulled away after changing to slick tyres, Ocon almost collected Lewis Hamilton when they left the pit lane, and the Frenchman said he had been forced further towards the pit wall than he would have liked. "It was the [wheel gun] tube of the [AlphaTauri] team from in front, I think, that made me go to the left," Ocon told media, including RacingNews365.com . "Otherwise, I reckon there would have been space for Lewis on the left. "Not an easy situation, but we have to try to take risks."
Ocon rues Alpine's frustrating Imola weekend
Ocon's Imola weekend had begun badly when a gearbox problem during Friday's qualifying session meant he was unable to set a representative lap time and had to line up 19th for Saturday’s Sprint race. This lowly grid slot meant he could only finish 16th in the Sprint, condemning him to start Sunday's race from that position. In addition to Ocon, teammate Fernando Alonso failed to score points on Sunday, after the Spaniard retired with sidepod damage following a snag from Mick Schumacher. Ocon was therefore left to rue a difficult event for Alpine , which dropped to sixth in the Constructors' Championship, behind Alfa Romeo. He added, however, that he expects some updates on his A522 for the following round in Miami. "We were lacking a bit of pace towards the end," said Ocon. "There was too much tyre degradation on our side to put too much pressure on Lance [Stroll in 10th], but in the end, it looks worse, the result, because of that penalty. "For the team, it's a frustrating weekend in general. I think we have to reset. "On my side, there will be some new parts on the car [for the Miami Grand Prix], and I look forward to seeing what that gives us performance-wise."
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