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The FIA was found to be in breach of its own International Sporting Code following a frightening near-miss at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Esteban Ocon pitted at the start of the final lap in Baku where he was greeted by a swarm of photographers and other personnel preparing for the conclusion of the race.
It created a terrifying moment where a car was hurtling towards a group of people at unabated speed as they gathered near the pit speed limit line.
Ocon described it as “crazy” and added that it could have been “a big disaster” had he missed his braking point.
The stewards summoned the FIA over the matter, finding two articles of the International Sporting Code had been breached.
Specifically, Article 12.2.1h relates to “Any unsafe act or failure to take reasonable measures, thus resulting in an unsafe situation.”
The FIA was also deemed to have breached Article 13.3.1 which reads: “Any breach of the Code, of the regulations of the FIA if appropriate, of the national rules, or of any Supplementary Regulations committed by any Organiser, official, Competitor, Driver, Participant, other licence-holder, or other person or organisation may be penalised.”
It was a point acknowledged by representatives of the FIA who “expressed their regret at what happened.”
The Stewards also required the FIA representatives “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.”
Sergio Perez won the race for Red Bull, heading team-mate Max Verstappen to the line after 51 laps of racing.
Ocon was the last driver to pit, a requirement under the regulations, doing so as he commenced his final lap.
That resulted in the Frenchman falling to 15th in the final classification having run ninth prior to his stop.
Read the stewards’ decision in full here.
