‘Not how it happened’… Esteban Ocon explains Alpine radio message after overtaking Gasly in Las Vegas

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Alpine driver Esteban Ocon has explained the radio message he received that seemed to suggest he shouldn’t overtake teammate Pierre Gasly.

Ocon, who finished seven places ahead of his Gasly in Las Vegas last weekend, was speaking on the official Formula 1 Post Race Show.

There were a few standout performances on Saturday night in Sin City.

Max Verstappen had to work hard to earn his 18^th win of the season, with Charles Leclerc doing very well to finish runner-up.

They were joined on the podium by Sergio Perez who needs to continue putting in strong performances to guarantee his seat going forward.

Outside of the podium, it was Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon who stole the show.

They both made up more than ten positions during the race, with Ocon coming home in fourth.

He’s only recorded one better finish than that this season, a podium in Monaco.

However, it sounded like Ocon ignored a radio message from the Alpine pit wall during the race that could have affected both his and his teammate’s finishing position.

The 27-year-old driver has now clarified the situation as he closed the gap on Pierre Gasly in the Drivers’ Standings.

There’s now just four points between them heading to Abu Dhabi this weekend.

Ocon explains Alpine radio message

Speaking after the race, journalist Will Buxton said: “We had a little bit of radio played out where the team basically said don’t put the moves on, just look after the tyres and literally about five seconds later you straight through!”

Ocon was adamant that wasn’t the case and replied: “No, that’s not how it happened! You know what, so I had position in the radio because I was already making moves and Pierre [Gasly] was defending, it was tricky!

“I had position and then I got told after that it was hold position, so I did the move, I completed the move and if the team asked to give back the position I would have done so. It’s important to clarify that.”

Ocon’s decision to potentially ignore the radio message and continue to work his way through the field appears to have been the right one.

Gasly struggled to look after his tyres and had other issues with the car that saw him tumble down the grid.

Oscar Piastri on fresh medium tyres managed to overtake him for the final points-paying position and picked up the fastest lap in the process.

They’ve not always had the best relationship and the pair will be competing for bragging rights when they head to Abu Dhabi this weekend.