Alpine’s Vegas Gamble: Unraveling the Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon Team Order Saga

The glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas Grand Prix often overshadow the intricate strategic battles unfolding on track. For Alpine, the inaugural race on the Strip brought more than just bright lights; it sparked another contentious moment between teammates Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, reminiscent of previous friction. A radio message, broadcast globally, instructed Ocon to “hold position” behind Gasly, only for him to swiftly overtake his teammate into Turn 5. Was this a blatant act of insubordination, or was there more to Alpine’s dramatic Las Vegas strategy?

Just five rounds prior at Suzuka, Gasly had publicly expressed his anger over Alpine’s handling of team orders, suggesting a pattern of strategic missteps. While his frustration simmered during the closing stages of the Las Vegas race, this time, the ire wasn’t directed solely at Ocon. The unfolding drama was a complex blend of tyre degradation, strategic miscalculations, and perhaps, a genuine communication breakdown, painting a vivid picture of a team struggling under pressure.

A Promising Start Derailed: Gasly’s Unfortunate Turn of Events

The weekend had begun with genuine promise for Pierre Gasly. He delivered his strongest qualifying performance of the season, securing an impressive fourth place on the grid. Despite starting from a grid box notoriously slick with oil, Gasly executed a brilliant getaway, holding his position admirably. Following an early Safety Car period, he found himself in a remarkable third place, well within podium contention. The Las Vegas night held the potential for a truly memorable result for the Frenchman and the Alpine team.

However, the tide began to turn dramatically after the final Safety Car intervention, triggered by a collision between George Russell and Max Verstappen. While many rivals capitalised on the opportunity to pit for fresh rubber, Alpine made the bold — and ultimately questionable — decision to keep both their drivers out on track. Gasly’s hard tyres were now a hefty 12 laps old, facing a demanding re-start on a cool street circuit. Although Ocon’s tyres were only three laps fresher, the difference in their performance would prove pivotal, setting the stage for Gasly’s agonising decline.

Safety Car Strategy: Alpine’s Risky Call Under the Lights

When the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 26, the pit lane buzzed with activity. Teams up and down the grid weighed the benefits of track position versus the significant performance advantage of new tyres. For Alpine, the call was to stay out. Gasly’s race engineer, John Howard, confirmed the instruction, outlining a precise energy management plan for the remaining laps. But Gasly, keenly aware of the evolving track conditions and the long race ahead, immediately questioned the decision, especially noting that key rivals like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had already opted for fresh rubber.

The conversation between Gasly and his engineer revealed the early seeds of doubt and frustration:

Lap: 26/50 GAS: 1’54.475
Howard	So Perez and Russell came together. Perez in the box.
Gasly	[unclear] that call.
Howard	Yes, please stay out. Stay out. And if we can get PU four position 11, PU four position 11. And in terms of gear usage for energy, we would really like turn one third gear and then second gear everywhere else.
Lap: 27/50 GAS: 2’39.651
Gasly	Is it faster or is it just for energy?
Howard	It is faster because of the energy.
Gasly	Are Max and Leclerc on new tyres.
Howard	Yep. Stand by. He’s on five-lap-old hards and then Perez on new hards. And remember to drink. So Piastri behind, we still believe needs to stop again. And we are P3.
Gasly	How many laps to go?
Howard	So we’ve got 23 remaining once you finish this one.
Gasly	Yeah, check the front, I’m locking at the front left.
Howard	There’s no issues, there are no issues from our side.
Gasly	Okay then [unclear]. Going after stuff Just how many laps Piastri got on his tyre and who’s behind him?
Howard	So Piastri on 10-lap-old hards. Behind him is Verstappen on new hard. And then Esteban is behind Verstappen, seven-lap-old hards.
Lap: 28/50 GAS: 2’45.291
Gasly	How many laps on mine?
Howard	Our tyres are 10 laps old. So lower gears in the slow speed is worth a tenth and a half, so it is faster.
Gasly	Any feedback on GPA at the minutes where we can improve compared to the other car braking or specific corner?
Howard	Yes. We’ll get back to you. So we’ve got some time to gain braking for turn five. This is compared to Esteban and to Russell.
Gasly	How many metres?
Howard	Stand by. Track is clear in turn 12. And the Safety Car is in this lap. We’re only talking about five metres or so, for turn five. Safety Car coming in this lap.

Gasly’s questioning of the strategy, especially regarding competitors on newer tyres and his early observation of front-left locking, revealed his discomfort. While the team assured him there were “no issues from our side,” it became clear that Gasly’s intuition about his deteriorating tyre performance was unfortunately accurate. The Alpine gamble was underway, with Gasly as an unwilling participant, increasingly aware of the precarious position he was in.

The Ocon Overtake: A Misunderstood Instruction or Aggressive Driving?

As the race restarted, Gasly quickly discovered that his old hard tyres were extremely difficult to warm up, a critical disadvantage on the cooler Las Vegas track. Despite an initial attempt to challenge Sergio Perez, he soon became vulnerable to cars behind him. “It just never recovered,” Gasly lamented after the race. “It was a very painful long last 25 laps from there on. It’s obviously frustrating because the start was great… I knew there was a big opportunity on the table but then on that hard tyre it was pretty much a nightmare.”

The tension escalated when Esteban Ocon, running on slightly fresher hard tyres, rapidly closed the gap to his struggling teammate. By the end of lap 33, Ocon was right on Gasly’s gearbox. It was at this crucial moment that Alpine intervened, instructing their drivers not to fight each other. However, the specific order for Ocon to “hold position” behind Gasly arrived late, only as he exited Turn 16, approaching the final corner of the lap.

Ocon’s explanation for the subsequent overtake was simple: radio interference. He claimed he didn’t hear the message properly, or at least not clearly enough to act on it immediately. Consequently, Ocon dove down the inside of Gasly at Turn 1, initiating a spirited dice through the next four corners. Ocon ultimately emerged ahead, leaving Gasly further exposed to the chasing pack.

The radio exchange during this pivotal moment illustrates the communication challenges and the rapid developments on track:

Lap: 31/50 OCO: 1’38.174, GAS: 1’38.772
		Howard	So gap to Verstappen behind 0.5 and we really need to manage this front-right in seven and nine.
		Howard	So car behind is Esteban.
Lap: 32/50 OCO: 1’37.629, GAS: 1’37.736
Peckett	Albon 1.2 behind. 18 laps to go. Let’s make sure we focus on getting to the end here.	Howard	So gap to Verstappen is 2.0. Gap to Esteban is 0.6 and we need second gear in nine and 12. And if we can get mode six. Mode six.
Lap: 33/50 OCO: 1’37.458, GAS: 1’37.805
Peckett	Okay Esteban we want to hold the position for the moment please. Hold position for the moment, think about tyre management.	Howard	So Esteban behind 0.5.
Lap: 34/50 OCO: 1’37.810, GAS: 1’38.586
Ocon	Repeat.	Howard	So gap to Esteban ahead 0.7. We’d like to hold position.
Peckett	SOC nine, please. SOC nine now.

While Ocon accelerated out of Turn 9, he asked his engineer to repeat the instruction. The team, perhaps sensing the futility of the order given the pace differential and Ocon’s aggressive move, did not reiterate the “hold position” command to him. Instead, Gasly was ironically told to “hold position,” a request he was increasingly unable to fulfil. This incident further highlighted the complexities of managing two competitive drivers within the same team, particularly when faced with dynamic race conditions and ambiguous communication.

Gasly Slips Back: The Agony of Being a ‘Sitting Duck’

The next few laps proved to be an excruciating ordeal for Pierre Gasly. His old hard tyres offered virtually no grip, rendering him defenceless against the fresher-shod cars behind him. One by one, competitors breezed past him in the DRS zones, transforming his promising race into a harrowing exercise in frustration. Gasly’s radio messages became increasingly desperate, reflecting his struggle with both the car’s performance and the team’s steadfast adherence to their initial strategy.

Lap: 40/50 GAS: 1’37.789
Gasly	What’s going on with my battery?
Howard	So focus on gear usage. Third gear, turn one.
Gasly	Doesn’t change anything, I can’t charge.
Gasly	Ah, front deg.
Howard	Copy that. So gap to Esteban one point…
Gasly	Can we change plan?
Howard	Okay Pierre we just need to manage these as best we can. Stroll behind 0.5. So everyone is managing, plan B is not viable.
Lap: 41/50 GAS: 1’38.760
Gasly	I can be two seconds faster.
Howard	So gap to Stroll behind 0.4. If we box, we come out in P17. So we need to stay on plan A.
Lap: 42/50 GAS: 1’38.094
Gasly	Got absolutely no grip.
Howard	Copy that. We need second gear. Turn five, nine and 12.
Howard	Gap to Stroll 1.8. Russell behind 1.5. We need to try and push through this.
Gasly	I’m losing so much fucking time.
Howard	We’ve got to stay out Pierre, we’ve got to just keep managing these. So Russell behind 1.1, he has a five second penalty. Piastri ahead still needs to stop. So we are P6 on the road. Seven laps to go after this one.
Lap: 43/50 GAS: 1’38.666
Gasly	I’m having too much deg, can’t…
Howard	So we’re happy with gear usage. Russell behind 0.4.
Lap: 44/50 GAS: 1’39.943
Howard	The car behind is Sainz 0.3.
Howard	So Alonso behind, 0.2.

The dialogue reveals Gasly’s desperate attempts to find solutions, asking about battery issues, front degradation, and even pleading to “change plan.” His engineer, John Howard, consistently reiterated that Plan B (a pit stop) was not viable, arguing that boxing would drop him to P17. The team’s commitment to staying out, even as Gasly’s pace collapsed, epitomised the strategic rigidity that ultimately cost them points. Gasly’s expletive-laden outburst, “I’m losing so much fucking time,” underscored the sheer helplessness he felt as his once-promising race unravelled.

Piastri’s Masterclass: A Strategic Contrast for Gasly

Perhaps the most galling development for Gasly was the performance of Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver, who had restarted behind Gasly, opted for a late pit stop with just eight laps remaining, taking on a set of fresh medium tyres. This aggressive strategy paid dividends almost immediately. Piastri’s searing pace allowed him to not only catch Gasly with ease but also to demote him out of the points-scoring positions. It was a stark contrast to Alpine’s decision, providing irrefutable evidence in Gasly’s mind that his team had made the wrong call.

Gasly’s frustration reached boiling point, making his feelings abundantly clear to his team over the radio:

Lap: 45/50 GAS: 1’38.829
Howard	So the car behind is Piastri. He’s 8.4 seconds back. He’s on used mediums.
Gasly	I don’t get why we didn’t pit. I told you I don’t have fucking grip with these tyres. I’m like a sitting duck.
Howard	So we are currently P10. Piastri behind seven seconds.
Gasly	I don’t fucking care about P10. I told you I have no tyre. You didn’t listen to me.
Lap: 46/50 GAS: 1’38.079
Howard	We’ve got five laps to go. So gap to Piastri 3.7. And we’ve got three laps to go after this one. Gap to Alonso 4.4.
Lap: 48/50 GAS: 1’38.217
Howard	And gap to Piastri 1.4.
Howard	So Piastri behind 0.4.
Lap: 49/50 GAS: 1’37.952
Howard	So car behind is Albon. He’s doing 38.4. We have two laps remaining.
Howard	And gap to Piastri 2.6.

Gasly’s angry declaration, “I don’t fucking care about P10. I told you I have no tyre. You didn’t listen to me,” encapsulated the raw disappointment and sense of betrayal. He had communicated his struggles clearly, yet the team stuck to its strategy, watching points slip away. This moment highlighted a critical breakdown in trust and communication between driver and pit wall, a detrimental factor in the high-stakes world of Formula 1.

Chequered Flag: A Bitter End and Urgent Questions for Alpine

Pierre Gasly eventually took the chequered flag in a forlorn 11th place, agonizingly outside the points. The race that began with such promise had dissolved into a strategic nightmare. His post-race comments to the media revealed a driver deeply confused and disappointed. “We need to review,” he stated. “I don’t fully understand why I struggled so much in my car.”

Lap: 50/50 GAS: 1’38.316
Howard	So this is the last lap we can go SOC one, last lap.
Howard	Okay, we’ll go recharge on scenario 12. And that’s P11. Sorry about that, mate.
Gasly	Yeah we’re absolutely nowhere. I don’t get it. I don’t understand how I can have so much degradation. It’s embarrassing.
Howard	Yep. A lot to look into. We’ll have a look after this.
Gasly	Yeah. We’ve got a lot quite of work to look at. A lot of things to look at. But good quali. Just need to understand that race. So frustrating at the end. We’ll work. We’ll work.
Howard	We’ll work through it. We’ll figure out what happened. It is frustrating, sorry about that. But yeah Saturday was great and the car had pace here, so a lot to look into.

The post-race radio exchange with John Howard saw both acknowledge the depth of the issues. Howard’s apology, “Sorry about that, mate,” was a quiet admission of a strategy gone wrong. Gasly’s blunt assessment, “We’re absolutely nowhere… It’s embarrassing,” underscored the chasm between his qualifying performance and race result. While he recognised the car’s inherent pace and his strong qualifying, the failure to convert it into points was a bitter pill to swallow. The Las Vegas Grand Prix, therefore, served as a painful lesson for Alpine, highlighting the critical need to improve their in-race strategy and, perhaps more importantly, their communication and responsiveness to driver feedback.

Conclusion: Lessons Learned for Alpine’s F1 Future

The 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix was a dramatic illustration of Formula 1’s unpredictable nature, where split-second decisions and driver-team communication can dictate success or failure. For Pierre Gasly, it was a race of immense highs and devastating lows, ultimately defined by a contentious team strategy that left him feeling unheard and exposed. The team order involving Esteban Ocon, whether a result of miscommunication or aggressive driving, added another layer of complexity to their already scrutinised relationship.

Alpine’s decision to keep Gasly out on old hard tyres proved to be a critical error, directly contributing to his rapid decline through the field. The contrasting success of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who demonstrated the power of a late pit stop for fresh rubber, only amplified Gasly’s frustration and validated his desperate pleas. This incident, following the earlier team order controversy at Suzuka, places further scrutiny on Alpine’s race management and strategic agility.

Moving forward, Alpine faces a clear imperative: to thoroughly review their strategic processes, enhance their in-race communication, and foster an environment where driver feedback is not only heard but actively integrated into decision-making. The raw emotion from Gasly’s radio messages underscores the psychological toll these situations take on drivers. To unlock their full potential and avoid a recurrence of such ’embarrassing’ results, the team must address these fundamental issues, ensuring that their promising qualifying pace can consistently translate into valuable points on Sundays.

2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix: Further Insights

• Tost blames track inspection oversight for Sainz’s damage in Las Vegas
• Hard to repeat “rare” combination of factors behind Vegas shunt – Norris
• Las Vegas Grand Prix “got a lot more hate than it deserved” – Sargeant
• Williams’ “incredible” Vegas qualifying made us “poor” in race – Vowles
• Piastri is first rookie to take two fastest laps in a season since Hamilton

Browse all 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix articles