"I wasn't surprised" - Daniel Ricciardo gives his opinion on the Esteban Ocon-Pierre Gasly clash in Monaco

Daniel Ricciardo recently addressed Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon's crash at the 2024 F1 Monaco GP. He explained how tension rises between two competitive teammates and recalled a similar incident he experienced before.

Since the Circuit de Monaco is one of the tightest street circuits on the F1 calendar, there have been many clashes between drivers, especially on the opening lap. In the 2024 Monaco GP, Gasly was ahead of Ocon as both Alpine drivers arrived at the Portier Corner (turn 8).

Ocon then tried a bold move on the inside of Gasly. As the corner was extremely tight for two modern F1 cars to be side-by-side, the latter's front right tire locked with Ocon's rear left one. As a result, Ocon's car lifted off the ground from the back and while it did not flip, the significant damage the car suffered forced him to retire.

Daniel Ricciardo, who was one car behind both the Alpine drivers, saw the entire incident unfold in front of him. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, he stated how Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon touched each other at least three times before the collision happened.

He also recalled how he and Max Verstappen had a similar incident back in the 2018 F1 Azerbaijan GP when both drove for Red Bull.

"But man, I mean, there was wheel touching I feel like three times before that happened or probably including that. Honestly, it reminded me of Baku 2018 where obviously Max and I, we touched, I think twice or three times before the accident," Ricciardo said.

The RB driver further added that he was not too surprised by the collision since the heat between the two Alpine drivers had been building up since the very start of the race.

"Obviously that, lap one, brewed in a lot shorter amount of time, but I could see it happening where I was like, ‘Okay, I feel like tension is rising very quickly,’ and sometimes with team-mates, it sparks even more. When I saw it happen, I wasn’t surprised because it felt like none of them wanted to give in and they were having a strong-arm competition," he added.

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Alpine chief Bruno Famin enraged after Esteban Ocon's crash with Pierre Gasly at Monaco

Alpine team principal Bruno Famin was not happy after Esteban Ocon crashed with his teammate Pierre Gasly at the start of the 2024 F1 Monaco GP.

Speaking to Canal+ after the race, he stated that Ocon should not have tried to attack his teammate at Portier Corner on the first lap of the race. He mentioned that the team needs to thoroughly discuss the consequences of the incident.

“It’s sad to see this kind of incident. It’s exactly what we didn’t want to see. Esteban’s attack was totally out of circumstances. It was exactly what we didn’t want to see and we’re going to draw the consequences. We’re going to make a tough decision,” Famin said (via PlanetF1)

“If we were fighting for a podium finish at the end of the race, why not, and still… But there, on the first lap, at Le Portier, frankly, it wasn’t the place to make an attack, leaving zero room for his teammate.”

While Esteban Ocon retired from the Monaco GP after the crash, Pierre Gasly continued in the race and managed to score a point for himself and Alpine.