Esteban Ocon was met by a swarm of photographers who were let into the pit-lane on to the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP. Image: Instagram / Sky Sports
Azerbaijan GP: Esteban Ocon involved in pit-lane chaos on penultimate lap
Esteban Ocon took evasive action to avoid hitting a swarm of photographers who were in the pit-lane on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP.
Esteban Ocon was met by a swarm of photographers who were let into the pit-lane on to the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP. Image: Instagram / Sky Sports
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon pit stop on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP led to a near-miss with more than 10 photographers who were let onto the pit lane before the end of the race.
The incident overshadowed a race that saw a dominant victory for Sergio Perez ahead of Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third, according to The Guardian.
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Ocon expressed his frustration at the incident, and said: “I’m arriving at 300kph, braking very late and I see the barriers, I see the people around, this is crazy. It could have been a big, big one today.”
“If I miss the braking point, it’s a big disaster. So a crazy moment. I’m sure the FIA has seen it and they will take action. If they don’t take action, I will go and speak to them, he said.
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The French team waited until the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP to pit Ocon as the rules require a driver must do a mandatory tyre stop, according to Sky Sports.
A statement from the stewards read: “We noted that it was not unusual for the representatives to allow such persons into the pit lane just before the end of the race, in the usual course of preparation for parc ferme and the podium ceremony.”
“However, in this case, there was one driver that had to pit in the last lap and this created a very dangerous situation for those that were in the pit lane at the time. We considered that it was fortunate that there were no serious consequences on account of what happened today.
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“We stressed that the requirements of ensuring a safe and orderly event are paramount. This was acknowledged by the FIA team.
“We walked through the relevant procedures and protocol with the FIA representatives in detail and required them to take immediate steps to reconsider these procedures and protocols with the relevant stakeholders (including FOM, the teams and the FIA) to ensure that this situation does not occur again.
“The FIA representatives expressed their regret at what happened and assured us that they would do so in time for the next event.”
Perez’s second victory of the season means he reduced to gap to Verstappen down to six points after four rounds of racing. The Mexican picked up his fifth of his career and became the first driver to win the Azerbaijan GP twice.
F1 heads to Miami for another street race and Perez will want to keep the momentum after a brilliant weekend where he collected 43 points after Saturday’s sprint race win.
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