The red flags flew in the final moments of SQ1 in the Sao Paulo Sprint Shootout as Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso made contact, putting Ocon’s Alpine into the wall with heavy damage.
Alonso was on a slow lap and Ocon on a fast one as the pair went through Turn 3, with Ocon appearing to spin up his rear wheels, the sideways moment sending him cannoning into Alonso’s Aston Martin.
LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from the Sprint Shootout at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix
“****ing idiot, Fernando,” said Ocon, who clearly felt he wasn’t given enough space by his former team mate. The moment sealed Ocon’s departure in the first segment of the Sprint Shootout, while leaving the Aston Martin mechanics with a big repair job to try and get their man out into the Sprint, the team having ruled that the two-time champ would play no further part in the Shootout despite making it through to SQ2.
Watch the bizarre crash above – with the stewards having announced that they would investigate the incident after the session.
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