Esteban Ocon breaks UNWANTED F1 record previously held by Pastor Maldonado

Esteban Ocon

Ocon breaks UNWANTED F1 record previously held by Maldonado

The Venezuelan has held the record for nearly eight years but Ocon eclipsed him in Spielberg

Joe Ellis

Tuesday 4 July 2023 20:57

Esteban Ocon claimed an F1 record at the Austrian Grand Prix after a wave of penalties were awarded after the race.

The Alpine driver had already been given a five-second penalty in the race for an unsafe release by his pit crew, but things only got worse after the chequered flag.

After the FIA reviewed the 1,200 or so possible track limits violations in the 71-lap race, Ocon was given two 10-second time penalties as well as two penalties of five seconds each, all for going over the white line on too many occasions.

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That totalled 35 seconds worth of penalties, although he was already out of the points before they were awarded so they were insignificant in the end.

Esteban Ocon's Austrian GP was a far fetch from his Monaco race where he scored a shock podium

Maldonado relieved of record

Ocon's tally of five penalties in one race is a modern-day F1 record surpassing the efforts of Pastor Maldonado.

The Venezuelan, who famously won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix out of nowhere for Williams, picked up three penalties in one race at the Hungarian GP of 2015.

Ocon came close to breaking the record in Bahrain, where he was given three penalties for various infringements during the race.

Despite a pointless weekend in Spielberg, Ocon remains ninth in the drivers' standings although Lando Norris has closed in after finishing fourth at the Red Bull Ring.