By alley - Nov 17, 2014, 5:30 AM ET

Ocon says crash cost him Macau win

Formula 3 European champion Esteban Ocon reckons he would have been on course to win the Macau Grand Prix if he had not clashed with Tom Blomqvist at Lisboa on the first bend.

The pair banged wheels as they turned through the right-hander, with the collision breaking Ocon's left front suspension. Unable to steer his car, Ocon then ran off in to the barriers at San Francisco bend, taking Blomqvist with him and triggering

a spectacular pile-up

that brought out the red flags.

Ocon said the situation was particularly annoying because he felt set-up changes to his car had given him what he needed to win.

"I did everything I planned to do," Ocon said. "I did a great start. At Mandarin I was on the outside to get a tow, so everything was perfect until then.

"Under braking [for Lisboa], I was on the inside so I was going to take the lead because Lucas [Auer] went straight on. Then, I don't know what Tom did because I was on the kerb but he kept steering.

"He broke my front left suspension and, after that, I couldn't steer and we both crashed into the wall because my wheel was broken. It was bad luck for me."

He added: "If I got P1 there then, and if there was no safety car, then I was really confident of the win. It is a shame because all before I wasn't taking any risk. The car wasn't at its best either. But we arrived at the final and I took a bit more risk, and everything went perfect.

"The car was great. It was feeling great in the city in the corners and also on the straight line, so it is a shame because the team did good work in the end. And everything was ruined. I am sadder for them than for me."

Originally on Autosport.com