F1 avoids nasty accident with chaos in the pit lane on final lap

F1 narrowly avoided a disastrous end to the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Esteban Ocon made his pit stop on the final lap with the pit lane full of people.
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 4, Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku Street Circuit,
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd…

Ocon hadn’t made his mandatory pit stop during the 51-race lap in Baku meaning he had to come into the pit lane on the final lap to avoid disqualification.

With the race coming to an end, a large number of photographers and other personnel were gathering in the pit lane waiting for race winner Sergio Perez.

This meant when Ocon came into the pit lane, the entry was completely blocked.

Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz described it as a "shambles".

He said during Sky's live coverage: “What is this about? This is a shambles. Absolute shambles. We could see it coming, Alpine could see it coming, what is going on down there?

Commentator David Croft added: “That is a total utter shambles of organisation and someone should have known.”

The FIA have confirmed the incident is under investigation. 

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