FIA verdict REVEALED following Esteban Ocon pit-lane CHAOS in Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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FIA verdict REVEALED following Ocon pit-lane CHAOS in Baku

Esteban Ocon's pit lane incident overshadowed the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday

Harry Smith

Sunday 30 April 2023 19:10 Updated: 20:02

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The FIA has expressed regret after breaking the International Sporting Code at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Representatives of the FIA were summoned to the stewards after photographers and officials flooded the pit entry before Esteban Ocon made his final-lap pit stop.

The resulting chaos was shocking for everyone watching as Ocon's Alpine car narrowly missed those standing in the pit lane, prompting some disgusted exclamations from David Croft and Ted Kravitz.

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The pit lane was already preparing for the chequered flag as Perez blasted down the pit straight with many unaware that Ocon was yet to make his mandatory stop.

A mass of people stands gathered across the pitlane before the conclusion of the race

Flirting with pitlane disaster

An official FIA document was released after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, laying the blame for the incident on the FIA.

The stewards confirmed that the pit-lane chaos was the direct result of the FIA's actions, ruling that they "took steps to set up the parc ferme area and also permitted media and other personnel to gather in the start of the pitlane and the pit wall during the last lap of the race, while the pit lane was open".

Ocon's final-lap pit stop nearly ended in disaster

This claim was later accepted by the FIA who reportedly "expressed their regret at what happened and assured us that they would do so in time for the next event".

Thankfully, action will be taken in the wake of the distressing scenes in the Baku City Circuit pit lane, with the FIA required "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".