Internal team conflicts were a storyline in Brazil. Will controversies carry over to Abu Dhabi?
Rivalries are the name of the game in sports but intra-club conflicts, although less common, are the stuff of which newspaper headlines are made. And in Formula One, a significant headline-maker is when drivers of the same team do not (and let’s be kind) get along. Examples include two situations at McLaren with Aryton Senna and Alain Prost and later between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. A notable Mercedes controversy came in the dispute between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
While those conflicts are sporadic and episodic, what happened last weekend was extraordinary. Driver conflicts were witnessed in three teams–Ferrari, Alpine, and Red Bull.
For Ferrari, it was just another episode in an already lousy season characterized by numerous examples of driver and team errors. Here’s what happened last Sunday in Brazil. Charles Leclerc, who was fourth nearing the end of the race and far behind teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., lightly pleaded for the Spaniard to slow down so he could take the final step on the podium. His plea was ignored. Sainz, Jr. finished third (getting that podium spot), while Leclerc ended up fourth.
The situation at Alpine was more complex and included issues that spanned days. During Saturday’s sprint race, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon blocked teammate Fernando Alonso and got hit from behind. The unhappy Alonso said he had only one more race before leaving for Aston Martin. Then, during Sunday’s race, Alpine had their cars approaching Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel when Ocon was told to let Alonso through, which the Frenchman contested.
Will smiles continue at Alpine? (photo, PlanetF1)
The response was seen as “typical Ocon,” who is viewed as a nice guy out of the car and notably overaggressive in it. But the dispute didn’t end there. Ocon argued with his engineer about the order, and the engineer argued back, demanding that Ocon obey this order. Finally, Ocon relented, and Alonso passed him, finishing in fifth place with Ocon in eighth.
While there still seems to be energy left in Alonso’s tank, Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi did not renew, which means Ocon will have a new partner, Pierre Gasly, in 2023, and that may not be a match made in heaven. Although the two grew up together, they are rumored not to like one another. The big question, then, is how things will work out. Confrontations could be career-ending experiences, but Ocon has the better situation of the two, a Mercedes contract.
Then, there is what happened at Red Bull, where current two-time world champion Max Verstappen also vies for the top Selfish Award. Last Sunday, Verstappen was in seventh place behind teammate Sergio Perez. Verstappen passed Perez and put his sights on passing Alonso. At that point, the Red Bull engineer asked Verstappen to let Perez through so that the team would have a chance of having Verstappen and Perez place 1-2 in the 2022 Driver’s Championship. Verstappen snapped back and refused to follow the order. Verstappen finished the race in sixth place, with Perez ending in seventh.
Red Bull team manager Christian Horner apologized to Perez, but the situation did not go unnoticed. Fans who admired Verstappen in Mexico burned their Red Bull fans’ shirts, showing that behaviors matter to those who support the sport.
Will these destructive behaviors continue into this weekend’s final season race in Abu Dhabi? We’ll see. Friday’s Free Practice 1 will be televised by ESPN2 starting at 5a Eastern time, followed by Free Practice 2 at 8a on ESPNN. Saturday’s Qualifying is scheduled for 9a and will be carried by ESPNN. ESPN2 will have Sunday’s race beginning at 8a. Eastern.
