Esteban Ocon has defended his attempted overtake to unlap himself against race leader Max Verstappen which saw the pair clash and become the cen🐬tre of controversy after the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The French driver looked to unlap himself by passing lea🌼der Verstappen at the start of Lap 44 but collided with the Red Bull driver into Turn 2 which sent the pair into a spin. The result saw Lewis Hamilton overtake Verstappen to set-up his victory charge at Interlagos with🌱 a furious Verstappen in second.

Ocon, who was slapped with a 10-second stop/go penalty by the FIA S🐈tewards for causing the collision, was confronted by Vers൲tappen immediately after the race which triggered a scrap caught on live television. The FIA has handed the Dutch driver a two-day ‘public service’ for his actions against Ocon while the pair made a public show of respect by shaking hands in the paddock after the FIA hearing.

A few hours after the race, the Force India driver took to social media to explain his attempted overtake explaining he had overtaken “seven times” 🐻at the same spot during the race and felt he had been “tight but alw🍎ays fair”.

I respect the FIA’s decision but just to be clear, if you are faster you are allowed to unlap your▨self. I overtook 7 times into turn 2 this race it was always tight, but always fair...

— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban)

Ocon came under fire from Red Bull bosses Christian Horner and Dr Helmut Marko who accused him of deliberate actions given his ties to Mercedes, with Ocon a factory driver tipped to join the works team in 2020, which led to Force India team principal Otmar Szafnauer to shoot ෴down the accusations as “conspiracy theories”.

“That’s a conspiracy theory and I doubt a racing d♎river is thinking about his drive for 2020 with what he does today. Absolutely not,” Szafnauer said.

“Esteban came on the radio and said can I unlap myself because I am quicker and we said yes go ahead. Thไat’s it.”