“That’s something the FIA needs to police before the end of the race.” “It needs a review because Esteban is within his rights to pit on the last lap and finish the race in the pit lane if he wanted to,” he said. Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, was unequivocal that the FIA had to address the issue. “What is this about? This is a shambles, an absolute shambles,” he said. Ted Kravitz, reporting for Sky Sports in the pit lane, was nearby and was clearly shocked. There appeared to be no regulation of their presence and an apparent disregard for basic safety procedure on entering the pit lane while racing was still under way and it was widely condemned. The sheer numbers present made it difficult for them to escape being struck as Ocon passed inches away. It was a terrifying moment, with many clearly unaware a car was coming in on what was still a live race track. The people, mainly photographers, were left scrambling out of the way of his Alpine. They were standing just yards past where Ocon hit the pit lane speed limiter as he entered but as he noted it was where he could have ploughed on at high speed had he missed his braking point, on what is known as the fast lane, where cars drive through the pit lane before peeling off into their garages.

He duly turned into the pit lane and as he rounded the corner was confronted with an entry road crowded with photographers gathering to take pictures of the podium. With one mandatory tyre change required they chose to pit him on the penultimate lap to carry it out. His Alpine team had adopted a counter-strategy to the rest of the field, starting him on the hard tyres and leaving him out for the entire race without a pit stop.

It gave Pérez a free stop, the lead and decided the race.Īs they cruised to the line, a full 21 seconds up the road from Leclerc, a similarly seemingly innocuous conclusion was awaiting Ocon.

The day looked to have belonged to Verstappen only for the world champion to be unlucky with the timing of a safety car.

With Red Bull’s race pace advantage they were untouchable out front once both drivers had passed the pole‑sitter, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who came third. In the race itself Pérez secured a dominant Red Bull one-two with his teammate Max Verstappen, after an unremarkable procession on the streets of Baku. The FIA has stated it will be updating its procedures before the F1 round in Miami next weekend. The stewards concluded it was “fortunate” there were not serious consequences and have mandated the FIA to “take immediate steps to reconsider these procedures and protocols with the relevant stakeholders (including Formula One Management, the teams and the FIA) to ensure that this situation does not occur again”. People in the pit lane scramble for safety as Esteban Ocon drives in.

Life 3.0 max