Esteban Ocon apologizes to Franco Colapinto: “He deserved the fastest lap, but we are in a fight”. Esteban Ocon switch to soft tires in USA GP so he could set the fastest lap.

At the end of last Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at the Austin circuit, Esteban Ocon questioned Alpine‘s request for him to pit and switch to soft tires with only two laps remaining, so he could set the fastest lap. This strategy was chosen because the French team is currently fighting for eighth place in the constructors’ standings with Williams, and at that moment, Franco Colapinto, who finished the race in tenth position, securing one point, also held the bonus for the fastest lap.

Esteban Ocon’s words
As reported by motorsport.com, Esteban Ocon stated: “Usually P10 never gets the fastest lap, which is why I questioned the decision to stop, as I didn’t see the point. But now I understand. It’s a battle for every point, and a top-10 finish is very important. I feel sorry for him because he deserved it, to be honest, but that’s how things go.” – he pointed out.

Alpine’s team principal, Oliver Oakes, praised the decision to bring Esteban Ocon into the pits, as the French team’s goal is to surpass Williams before the season ends: “Credit goes to the guys on the pit wall,” said the Briton, who continued, “I think they were second-guessing themselves a little, but it’s never easy. Everyone has hindsight, but at the time, it was a good decision. It was a bit bold to take a point away from Williams for the fastest lap, because I think Colapinto would have gotten it, so that was the main reason. Kudos to Williams; they are doing a good job. I believe Baku was an important weekend for them, and capitalizing on that has made life a bit harder for us, but there are still a few races left, and we’re aiming for that.” – he explained.

Franco Colapinto, who currently doesn’t have a seat for next Formula 1 season, spoke about what happened in Austin: “I think our pace was better than theirs. They had to put on a new set of tires and have a low fuel load to try to get the fastest lap. They weren’t close to us in terms of pace. But that’s part of racing. I was happy with the extra point and wanted to keep it, but it’s okay. We had it for a while, but we’ll get it back soon. We have a good car and are capable of scoring points, so we’ll come back stronger, I’m sure of it.” – the Williams driver concluded at the end of the United States Grand Prix.