30 April 2023 , 15:16
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The Formula 1 stewards admitted "it was fortunate that there were no serious consequences" from the incident which saw Esteban Ocon almost hit several people in the pit lane at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Photographers and a few other people had been allowed into parc ferme by FIA officials to prepare for the podium ceremony in Baku. But the race was still going on and Ocon was yet to pit, as his Alpine team had taken a strategy gamble.
He came into the pits on the final lap, only to find a group of people standing in front of his car. Fortunately, they all managed to leap out of the way in time and no one was injured.
But the stewards have acknowledged that it could have been a disaster. After summoning the FIA representatives to their offices, a statement was released in which it published its determination about what had happened.
"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," it read.
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Esteban Ocon's view as people scrambled to get out of his way in the pit lane (Sky Sports)"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."
Ocon, who had not been warned that there were people in the pit lane, said after the race: "It could have been a big, big one today. I got close to them and I had to back off. I would not have liked to have been in there with the speed I was arriving. If I missed the braking point it could have been a big disaster. It was crazy.
"I don’t understand why they are starting to prep the podium while we are still racing. There is one lap to go. I am arriving at 300kph and I am braking very late. It is clear. We need to wait until all the cars have passed the chequered flag and ensure there is no racing in the pit lane. It is not a mystery. It is very simple."