Alpine CEO takes Alonso, Ocon to task over 'gross misconduct' in Brazil

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi gave drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon a stern talking to after their antics during the Sao Paolo sprint race.

Not for the first time this season, Alonso and Ocon were making the Alpine crew very nervous as they went to battle in the opening stages of the Sao Paulo sprint.

But unlike Jeddah, this time, there was contact. First, at Turn 4, Alonso just about rescued a slide to avoid collecting Ocon, but then down the main straight, he would lose his front wing as he hit the back of his teammate's Alpine.

Alonso received a five-second penalty and two penalty points on his Super Licence for that incident.

THE TWO ALPINES TOUCH!!! ????A disastrous Sprint for the Enstone team, as both drivers picked up damage from multiple moments of contact with each other ??Leaving Alonso to finish in P15, Ocon P18....#BrazilGP #F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/DlyzThN1mX

A crucial weekend

So, on a crucial weekend in Alpine's bid to secure P4 in the Constructors', Ocon was left starting the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from P16 and Alonso P17.

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer publicly slammed both drivers ahead of the race. Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, he revealed that it was Alpine CEO Rossi leading the stern warning of Alonso and Ocon in the debrief.

And, as part of the debrief, Szafnauer said Rossi told Alonso and Ocon that should anyone else in the Alpine team have behaved like this, they would have been let go for "gross misconduct". Szafnauer agrees.

"I would have said the same, but it was Laurent Rossi who gave them the talking to in the briefing," said Szafnauer.

"And he just made the good points that this is a team, and we've got over 1 000 people between Viry and Enstone working tirelessly to give them the