Esteban Ocon had to be taken to the medical centre after a crash on the opening lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Frenchman’s seat snapped in two in an accident with team-mate Pierre Gasly at turn one.
According to Sky Sports F1, Ocon was being checked out by doctors to make sure his back was not damaged in the collision. It was a nightmare start for Alpine with both drivers retiring just minutes into the Grand Prix.
The incident started after Zhou Guanyu tapped the rear end of Yuki Tsunoda into the braking zone of turn one. Tsunoda then went into the back of Ocon who was pushed into the side of Gasly.
However, Ocon was thrown into the air as their two tyres collided which likely caused the damage to his seat. Alpine mechanics tried to fix Gasly’s car but their efforts were in vain as the ex-Red Bull driver retired.
Moments later, Ocon was also called into the pits by his race engineer to end his afternoon. The incident was immediately investigated by the stewards with Zhou handed a five-second penalty by race control.
However, Sky Sports commentator Ted Kravitz felt Alpine would have reason to feel hard done by. They also suffered a double DNF at Silverstone in the previous race. He explained: “That’s a completely waste of a weekend for these poor Alpine guys.”
Alpine tweeted: “A racing incident means both cars have retired from the #HungarianGP.” Later in the afternoon, Alpine provided an update on Ocon’s condition on social media.
When asked how Ocon was, they replied: “We can confirm Esteban and Pierre are OK.” F1 fans took to social media to share their sympathy for the squad after a dismal afternoon in Budapest.
@Domfrombath said: “That’s got to be all the bad luck used up for this season, right?” @m_kathleeen added: “So unlucky… and after such a great start from Pierre too!! On to the next race, team.”
@julesjulesjule8 wrote: “Devastated for the whole team but can’t wait to see you back in Spa.” @SeeGasly commented: “I’m so sorry team. These things happen unfortunately and there is nothing we can do besides focusing on the next one. Always supporting the team.”
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