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The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix was a mixed bag for Alpine. While Pierre Gasly managed to salvage a solitary point for the team, a clash between their drivers on the opening lap overshadowed their performance.
Esteban Ocon, who surprised the team with his strong pace throughout the weekend, collided with Gasly at Portier corner. The incident resulted in Ocon's retirement and a five-place grid penalty for the next race. “I made a mistake today so I apologise to the entire team for the incident and the retirement. In the end, the team scored points as we set out to do and that’s the most important thing for our ambitions. There was too much damage sustained to my car to resume the race despite the best efforts of the team during the red flag stop. We will review everything as a team and come back stronger together. We are all pushing to score points. Mistakes do happen and we move on.”
Despite the disappointment, Gasly secured a point finish, the first for him this season. He capitalized on the red flag period to switch to new mediums and strategically managed the race to the checkered flag. “It feels good to score my first point of the season and the team deserves it, considering how much work they have put in during the last couple of weeks to improve our performance. Monaco is a place full of opportunities, especially in Qualifying, which we seized by reaching Q3 for the first time this year. Had we maximised Q3, more points were probably possible. As a team we will review many things. After the red flag, the race was very uneventful and it was just about managing tyres and pace all the way to the chequered flag where, in the end, the outcome is a deserved point for the team.”
Team Principal Bruno Famin acknowledged the mixed outcome. While he highlighted the importance of the point for the team's championship aspirations, he admitted they would analyze the driver incident internally. “Today’s result was largely defined by yesterday’s Qualifying and, as a team, one point is how it has ended up. It’s a bittersweet feeling. We probably did not maximise yesterday’s Qualifying but from where we ended Friday to where we have ended Sunday is clearly a positive outcome. As a team we will review and manage the incident between both cars behind closed doors. We must avoid situations that have the potential to compromise the team.”
