The FIA acknowledges certain lapses at the end of F1 Azerbaijan GP in pitlane while regretting the situation and assuring of changes.
In an unusual and rare strategy that is adopted by F1 teams and drivers, the FIA representatives were caught out by late stopper Alpine’s Esteban Ocon at the end of the Azerbaijan GP, which provided some dramas amid a somber grand prix.
While Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg in the same strategy saw no trouble having stopped a lap earlier, Ocon found FIA, track and media personnel on his way to the pits for his mandatory tyre change of the grand prix on the last lap, in a scary moment.
They were getting ready for the podium at the start of the pitlane and were caught out by Ocon approaching. Fortunately, the Frenchman braked timely and the personnel too saw the incoming Alpine on time to move away and not cause any trouble.
But the FIA stewards did pull up the FIA’s representative handling the parc ferme area. In their decision, they noted that it was fortunate that nothing dangerous happened especially considering the strict push for safety that is being usually adhered to.
The FIA representative acknowledged the shortcomings and regretted the mishap, while assuring that they will take necessary steps for the next event. Ocon, meanwhile, was naturally not too happy seeing people on his way to the pits.
“Yeah, not something that we want to see,” said Ocon to media. “I mean I don’t understand why we are starting to prep the podium and prep the ceremony while we are still racing. There’s one lap to go, there’s still people that didn’t pit, I guess Nico didn’t pit at the time.
“I’m arriving at 300kph, braking very late and I see the people around, this is crazy, it could have been a big, big one today. It’s definitely something that needs to be discussed. It’s something we don’t want to see. I have to say at the speed that we are arriving there, especially so close to the line, if I miss the braking point it’s a big disaster. So yeah, crazy moment.”
Here’s the FIA decision –
The Stewards heard from the FIA representatives and determined that the relevant representatives took steps to set up the parc ferme area and also permitted media and other personnel to gather in the start of the pit lane and the pit wall during the last lap of the race, while the pit lane was open and before the final pit stop of OCO (Car 31).
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. 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.
Here’s the video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1652653955627855874
Here’s how F1 Azerbaijan GP panned out
