F1 | Monza GP – Esteban Ocon disagrees with penalty: “It’s a point where the track narrows”. Esteban Ocon finishes 15th at the Italian GP after a 5-second penalty for forcing Lance Stroll off track.

F1 | Esteban Ocon finishes 15th at the Italian GP after a 5-second penalty for forcing Lance Stroll off track

It was not an easy Italian Grand Prix for Esteban Ocon, who faced both an unfair penalty and car problems. The French driver finished 15th, after a race that initially looked promising, but a problem discovered during qualifying slowed him down.

On the second lap, Esteban Ocon received a five-second penalty, served during a pit stop, for “forcing another driver off the track.” Lance Stroll was pushed beyond the track limits at Roggia after Ocon’s move. However, the fault was not entirely on the Haas driver. That section of the track naturally narrows, making it difficult for two cars to run side by side.

When told over the radio that he would serve the five-second penalty during the pit stop, Esteban Ocon was visibly frustrated. “Yes, what a load of s***. The track narrows there, so there was no space. That’s just how it is,” he said angrily.

Ocon’s statements

“It was worth trying [the pit stop]. The tires were getting faster and faster, so it made sense to continue,” Ocon stated. “I think we didn’t have a great weekend for our side, especially after yesterday’s qualifying. We discovered a few issues with the car, and although we tried to fix them today, it was too late.”

He added: “Unfortunately, that put us in a difficult position for the race. Yes, the pace was what it was, but everyone was close together, and passing was almost impossible. So it didn’t help us much.”

“Overall, there are many things to review. But we did get some good lessons from this weekend,” he continued.

When asked about the qualifying issue that could not be fully fixed before the race, Ocon explained: “We will try to resolve the problem as a team. Obviously, the problem was with the steering. During qualifying, we discovered we were missing front aerodynamic load. That was a surprise, basically, for qualifying.”

“We didn’t expect such a big difference. This issue causes front lock-ups, especially when turning. That’s definitely why we haven’t been performing well,” the 28-year-old added.

Regarding strategy and tires, Ocon said: “Now I have some experience with the tires, so I know what to do. It was the optimal race to do [one stop], staying on a single set of tires for a long stint. At the start, I monitored the tire behavior and managed them as long as I could, then pushed when required. I think I did this quite well, also because we were among the best.”

The penalty

Finally, he was asked whether he thought the five-second penalty for the incident with Stroll was fair.

“I haven’t reviewed it yet. But honestly, I don’t think so, because it’s at a point where the track narrows substantially. So even if you stay on your line, the track naturally squeezes, meaning the outside driver will always have a wheel partially off,” Ocon explained.

“Yes, it was more a case of the track narrowing rather than me not leaving space for my friend Lance,” Ocon concluded.