Close to the conclusion of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, an error in organisation almost lead to a massacre as Esteban Ocon was required to serve his 5-second time penalty and almost mowed down a large crowd of people unaware of his presence.
Alpine, formerly Renault, had their strategy cut out for them on Sunday after Ocon was required to start the race from the pits, he would have to put in a hugely taxing stint on the Hard compound tyres before making the stop at the end for his mandatory second pair of tyres.
Sky Sports broadcasters Karun Chandhok and David Croft were left confused when a still-live pit lane was flooded with photographers and media personnel who were seemingly not aware that cars would still be passing through. They were all rushing to get pictures of Sergio Perez the race winner.
David Croft called the scene a “Complete and utter shambles” as the crowd was seen scrambling to get away within inches of their life as Ocon avoided the horrific incident.
As the scene unfolded, Sky Sports pundit Ted Kravitz commented:
“What is this about?! This is a shambles. We can see it coming, Alpine can see it coming, why can’t anyone else? What is going on down there?!”
Horrific onboard footage from Ocon’s cockpit shows just how close the French driver came to colliding with one Man in particular who was forced to leave the blue car’s path at the last second.
An investigation into the incident has been launched with the FIA commenting on the matter:
“Representatives of the FIA responsible for the Parc Ferme area at pit entry are required to report to the Stewards at 17:30, in relation to the incident below: Personnel blocking the fast lane in the pit lane on the final lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while the pit lane remained open.”
