© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Esteban Ocon was not happy when the FIA penalized him for causing a collision with Lewis Hamilton, but Jolyon Palmer and Felipe Massa think the penalty was “quite fair”.
At one point in the Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton got stuck behind a much slower Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
Despite Lewis’ numerous attempts to overtake the young Frenchman, he was unable to complete the move due to the characteristics of the Monaco track.
However, at one point Ocon’s defence went a step too far and led to a collision with Hamilton. The crash damaged Lewis’ front wing, and Ocon later received a five-second penalty.
After the race, Esteban blasted the FIA for what he thought to be an unjust penalty, but analysts Jolyon Palmer and Felipe Massa don’t agree.
“I think he should have left him a bit of space,” Palmer said.
“Overtaking here anywhere is so difficult, when someone is getting alongside you, I think it’s only fair that you then leave the space and he didn’t.
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“[He] turned in, took the apex kerb in fact, you can’t be turning in for the apex kerb when there is a car on your inside.
“So, I think that one was quite a fair penalty,” Palmer said.
Massa agreed with his colleague’s analysis.
“Yeah you are in Monaco, you don’t want to lose the space, because you are in the front but you are much slower than the car behind,” the Brazilian said.
“But I agree, I think he deserved the penalty and lost some points, which is quite a shame,” Massa concluded.
