‘F1 had a lucky escape’ with Baku pit lane ‘shambles’
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon narrowly avoided hitting photographers and personnel in the pitlane when he came in to complete his mandatory pit stop on the final lap.
The Frenchman had completed the entire race on the hard tyre and was coming in to change his tyres when photographers and TV crews were let in to the pitlane.
Ocon dived in to the pit lane and several people had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
Sky pitlane reporter Kravitz described the incident as a "shambles"
“The aftermath of the podium scene, it could have been a very different scene, indeed, Kravitz observed.
“We normally get to the end of the race, the point where everybody knows that everybody has made their pitstops.
"There will probably not be more pitstops. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be.
“The parc ferme barriers come out.
“The people, the FIA photographers, are released by the FIA and the local marshalls either through an access gate so people can get into position.
“There is also a photographers’ tower. They request time to get into there, to get celebration shots of the podium.
“That’s what normally happens.
“What was unusual about today is that absolutely everybody who was paying attention to the race knew that there was going to be guaranteed one last pitstop for Ocon.
“We all knew there was going to be.”
Kravitz revealed he had reminded security guards that there were still two pitstops to be made before the chequered flag.
“There is another gap - for the team guests,” Kravitz continued. “The team guests garage is between Alpine and McLaren’s.
“We were all aware - not least because I reminded the security guards that there were two pitstops still to be made, Hulkenberg and Russell, then Ocon.
“It wasn’t team guests [amid the chaos]. It was official FIA photographers.
“That’s why the person in charge of this parc ferme arrangement has been summoned to see the Stewards.
"It is effectively the FIA investigating themselves. The officials made a mistake.
“The lesson does need to be learned when they can let people in, for pure safety’s sake.
“F1 had a lucky escape today.”
The incident is currently being investigated, with the Baku stewards summoning “FIA representatives”.
