Alpine driver Pierre Gasly was not happy with his team in Abu Dhabi today and made his feelings clear over the team radio.
Gasly was one of the many drivers on the grid who still had something to play for going into the final race.
His message, heard via Sky Sports F1, summed up his frustrations as he watched his teammate drive away into the distance.
Calling it a season of mediocrity for Alpine would be slightly harsh, but they’ve been stuck in no man’s land in the Constructors’ Championship for months.
They’ve finished sixth this season, nearly 100 points ahead of Williams and more than 150 points behind Aston Martin.
However, that didn’t mean Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were taking it easy today.
They were separated by just four points going into the race and disappointingly, they ended that way as well.
Gasly might have been frustrated over the radio with how his race in Abu Dhabi was going, but there was a reason the team made the call they did.

He accepted it in the end, but with limited information in the car, it’s no surprise he wasn’t happy at the time.
It’s the second time in two races Alpine have made headlines with their radio messages.
Gasly furious over team radio in Abu Dhabi
Alpine decided to pit Ocon ahead of Gasly and subsequently leapfrogged him in the pit stops.
The 27-year-old quickly contacted the team and said: “I don’t get how you can undercut me with the other car. I’m the leading car, I don’t understand.
“You’ll have to explain to me.”
The team radio replied: “So, Esteban [Ocon] is 4.1 seconds ahead, just concentrate on tyre management, there’s a long way to go, we can make this work.”
Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz explained: “Not quite sure how they’re going to make it work.
“Stopping Esteban Ocon two laps earlier lost Pierre Gasly about five seconds to [Lewis] Hamilton and now it’s two seconds to Ocon.
“And it wasn’t the quickest of stops at Alpine for Pierre Gasly, that’s really cost him. I’m with Pierre, I don’t really understand the thinking behind that either.”
Gasly’s frustrations over the team radio in Abu Dhabi summarize his season pretty well, although he’ll be happy to have ended the campaign above Ocon in the Drivers’ Championship.
The pair haven’t always had the best relationship but completed the season with a podium to their name.
It’s up to Alpine to make sure they close the gap on the top five teams rather than getting dragged into a battle at the bottom by the other four constructors.
The issue they have as was shown today, is that when the top five teams have barely any issues, they can’t get into the points.
Yuki Tsunoda replaced Carlos Sainz, but apart from that it was as expected from the strongest teams.
Gasly’s race was also compromised by the contact he had with Lewis Hamilton, which was why Ocon was given preferential treatment.
He’ll be hoping 2024 brings more good luck than the bad luck he’s suffered this year.
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