PALMER: Ocon’s Monaco lunge on Gasly didn’t deserve a penalty – but it was madness to try it on his team mate

The very worst thing you can do as a racing driver is to crash with your team mate, it’s a cardinal sin in any form of motorsport. So much money, time and effort goes into getting two cars ready for a Grand Prix as every member of the team goes all out in a bid to score points and perhaps make a crucial difference in the constructors’ championship.

In the case of Alpine, every point counts right now, as they bid to overturn their very difficult start to the season. With Pierre Gasly starting 10th in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix and Esteban Ocon in 11th, they were in a promising position, but all their good work in qualifying was almost entirely undone on the opening lap.