The Frenchman pulled off an impressive charge from 16th on the grid in Las Vegas to finish fourth on Saturday in what was one of his best race performances of the year.
But it was not without some intrigue after television footage showed him making an overtake on Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly just moments after he had received a radio message from the pitwall telling him to ‘hold position.’
While Ocon has been known to be pretty ruthless in battling team-mates in the past, he has revealed that this situation was nothing to do with trying to get one up on Gasly. Instead, it was explained through him not properly hearing what had been said to him on the radio.
Speaking to Sky about what happened, Ocon said: “I think Pierre was on older tyres at the time and I got told 'hold position.’
“But at the time, I didn't know it was 'hold position'. The only thing I heard was ‘position’ because I was basically making the move while I got told.
“Obviously if the team had asked for me to give back the position, I would have done so straight away.”
Ocon explained how his feelings after a brilliant push through the field to finish fourth was in complete contrast to the despair he felt after qualifying.
Source: Autosport