Formula 1 likes to satisfaction itself on its security report today. Innovations in automobile design, crash barrier improvement and the way in which an F1 race is run implies that severe accidents are, fortunately, few and much between today. But the variety of shut calls we see on a race weekend has been on the rise in latest months, culminating with an incident on Sunday that noticed Alpine’s Esteban Ocon slam on the brakes to keep away from a wall of FIA delegates blocking the pitlane.
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Ocon had an fascinating race on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend. Having began the race on exhausting tires, he ran virtually to the top with out stopping for a brand new set of wheels. But, in F1, the foundations state that drivers should use two totally different tire compounds over the course of the race. Meaning that everyone knew the French racer nonetheless needed to cease earlier than the checkered flag fell.
So as lap 51 of 51 began, eyes had been on the Alpine driver to see if his mammoth stint on exhausting tires was lastly coming to an finish. But, simply as Ocon peeled off the observe and into the pits, the F1 commentary staff had been shocked to see {that a} flock of FIA representatives was on the observe getting ready for the top of the race. Then, as Ocon barreled into the pitlane he was confronted with a wall of individuals blocking his path. He slammed on the brakes, and the representatives on observe jumped out of the way in which.
The incident was stunning, with many taking to Twitter to model it an outrage. Sky’s pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz was shaken by the sight and you possibly can hear the anger in his voice following the on-track incident.
“I had a bit of a scary moment at the end of the race when I came into pit and saw people congregating in the Pit Lane even though the race had not ended,” defined Ocon in a launch shared by the Alpine staff. “Fortunately, nothing happened, but we must make sure these scenarios don’t happen again.”
After the race concluded, the FIA stewards monitoring the Azerbaijan Grand Prix known as in representatives from the sporting physique for questioning over the incident. Now, Autosport reviews that the FIA is “currently investigating the incident in the pitlane on the final lap.”
Representatives of the FIA had been ordered to fulfill with the stewards yesterday at 5:30 pm native time (9:30 am ET). At the time, the FIA launched paperwork saying:
“Representatives of the FIA responsible for the Parc Fermé area at pit entry are required to report to the Stewards at 17:30, in relation to the incident below.
“Reason: Personnel blocking the fast lane in the pit lane on the final lap of the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix while the pit lane remained open.”
Since then, Formula 1’s governing physique has not issued an replace on the stewards’ findings of the incident. But, with lower than every week to go till the subsequent grand prix in Miami, race followers shall be hoping that security might be tightened up as soon as once more.
But the incident on Sunday is simply the most recent in a slew of mishaps for the FIA and its administration of Formula 1. Over the previous yr, drivers have repeatedly complained about inconsistencies in stewarding at occasions, and through final yr’s Japanese Grand Prix organizers even launched a restoration automobile onto the observe whereas vehicles had been nonetheless circling.
Source: jalopnik.com
