Gasly: Rivalry with Ocon ‘not good for either of us’

Pierre Gasly feels his rivalry with Force India Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon is “not good for either of us” following their latest run-in at the Mexican Grand Prix.

Gasly felt aggrieved that Ocon had not left him enough space when trying to make a pass in the closing stages of the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez two weeks ago, only for the stewards to deem there had been no wrong-doing on-track.

Gasly managed to pass Ocon and score the final point for P10, but the incident acted as the latest flashpoint between the two drivers, whose rivalry dates back to go-karting.

Gasly spoke after the race how it was “always the same thing” with Ocon, feeling unsurprised by his on-track actions, but also explained how he felt their rivalry wasn’t doing either of them any good.

“I think at the moment, it’s not good for either of us,” Gasly said.

“Today [in Mexico] we lost 2.5 seconds, which cost me also a flatspot, and in the end, he could have maybe finished P10 and I could have finished P9.

“You need to be objective, but I don’t think it’s really good. But I don’t want to waste energy with that in the end.

“I try to focus on my race and try to make it clean. I think this was slightly over the limit.

“But I finished in front of him, so that’s OK."

Gasly and Ocon used to be close friends when they were growing up, only for the pair to fall out during the later stages of their karting careers.

The two have enjoyed a frosty relationship throughout their time together in F1, with both featuring on the grid since the closing races of the 2017 season.