Esteban Ocon blames “idiot” Fernando Alonso as shunt halts sprint qualifying at F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

The former Alpine teammates got together at Turn 3 when Ocon, on a fast lap, lost control of his car coming out of the Senna Esses and tagged Alonso, who was dawdling on a slow lap. 

Alonso did not seem to see Ocon coming and appeared to move back towards the racing line at the same moment the Frenchman got out of shape after running over the kerbs. 

Ocon oversteered into Alonso’s Aston Martin and was sent spinning off into the Turn 3 barriers at high-speed. 

Alonso made it back to the pits but picked up a front left puncture. 

The incident, which has been noted by the stewards, caused SQ1 to be red-flagged due to the barriers needing repairs. 

Ocon branded Alonso an “idiot” over team radio as he squarely put the blame on the two-time world champion.

Ocon has been eliminated in 16th, while Alonso got through to SQ2 but was unable to participate due to the damage on his Aston Martin. 

“Unfortunately we could not complete the qualifying,” the Spaniard said. “It’s a shame both cars out of qualifying now and a lot of damage on both cars I guess. Not what we wanted. 

“I haven’t seen the replay yet. Someone told me he lost the car a little bit but one of those situations – wrong place, wrong moment.”